


Change of Routine

by holdingthispain



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, diner au???????????, i guess?????????, the entire group is here the rest are just mentioned, the jiyoo is super minimal and on the side, this has fluff humor and angst wrapped into one fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23086357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdingthispain/pseuds/holdingthispain
Summary: Sometimes, one change in your routine changes everything.
Relationships: Han Dong | Handong/Lee Siyeon, Kim Minji | JiU/Kim Yoohyeon
Comments: 39
Kudos: 116





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello!!! welcome to my first dc fic!!! this is just a little short piece i wanted to write and i havent seen a lot of sidong so here you go!!!  
> hope you enjoy!!!

Handong didn’t think she’d end up staying in the little town she grew up in.

Millions of times, she’d go on and on about leaving and pursuing her dream of wanting to sing, to perform for a large audience. Making a grand promise that she would do this, she couldn’t be swayed or convinced otherwise.

Yet, she was still here, working in the same diner she’d been working in since she was sixteen.

Thinking back on that, her wanting to leave as soon as she turned eighteen, she felt kind of silly. She became comfortable, she made enough money to sustain herself, and she was with her family.

Or, she convinced herself she was comfortable. That word didn’t sit right with her. Thinking about that plan made her sad as well, being so determined, it was probably an inside joke to someone in town. All she could do was accept and own it.

Handong was getting through the lunch rush, serving all her assigned tables, doing the waitress courtesy, and making sure everything was as perfect as it could be at such a hectic time.

It was also around the time her little sister would come from class and get _yet another_ ‘put-it-on-my-tab’ meal.

“Dongdong!”

Speak of the devil, there she was, sitting at her usual booth, her hair was a mess, wearing her same college hoodie for three days straight (yes, she was counting), with her backpack next to her, and a goofy grin on her face.

The blonde rolled her eyes but approached her anyway; she couldn’t say no to her, even if she tried.

“Hey Yoohyeon,” she said, placing her notepad and pen in her waitress apron. “How was class today?”

“I passed my fourth quarter German exam today! Oh, and my grades from last week’s classes came! I impressed my professor with my analysis for my Syntax class! And my Semantics professor with my presentation!”

She always loved and was intrigued by languages and how they work, so it wasn’t shocking she wanted to get into Linguistics for college. She always had the best grade when she was learning Spanish in high school! Having a knack for learning languages, she had to have about four or five in her brain by now, and those were just the ones she was fluent in.

She continued, “So, I think that calls for a celebratory meal, don’t you think?” She grabbed the blonde’s hand, squeezing it as she fluttered her eyes, still smiling big.

She had to scoff, amused at her. Despite Yoohyeon being taller, she really showed she was the younger one through her actions.

“Do you know how much you owe here, Yoo?”

“I forgot. I stopped counting months ago,” she shook her head, whining. “I’ll pay you when I can, okay?”

Handong had to roll her eyes again, “Fine, it’ll go on your tab. Again.”

“Thank you, Dongdong! You’re the best!”

The tab accumulated to triple digits. Handong knew her baby sister really meant she'd pay it eventually; the number was just ugly to look at every time she had to add to it. Yoohyeon had done this routine for so long, all Handong had to do was write ‘Yoohyeon’ on a ticket and the cooks just knew what that was.

This allowed the waitress to tend to other tables, placing bills down and picking up tips, cleaning the tables for the next patrons to sit in when they arrive. Like any job, she had her days when this job was just too much, too frustrating, and all she wanted to do was give up. There was even a point in time where she was given a paid leave, but she just couldn’t. She continued to push without taking that break.

By the time she was done with cleaning the last table, the rush died, and Yoohyeon’s cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milkshake were done. She grabbed the tray and brought it to her, setting it down.

“Can you take a break now?” Yoohyeon put her phone away and started to dig in, her burger in one hand and her shake in the other, taking a bite after finishing her question.

Handong checked her watch and shrugged, “I guess I could.”

She went to the back and took her apron off, hanging it on her locker hook, and returned, huffing a tired breath as she sat across Yoohyeon. She watched as the gray-haired girl started splitting her burger in half, and then divided her fries in half too.

“Feeling generous today?” Handong teased as she grabbed the burger being handed to her.

“I didn’t just pass my exam and get good grades.” Her sister leaned over. “I finally talked to her!”

“Thank god.”

Yoohyeon gave her a light kick to Handong’s shin, not fazing her. She stuck her tongue out, chuckling at her reaction to her small comment, “You’ve had a crush on her for how long? Four years?”

“I wasn’t ready yet!”

Since Yoohyeon’s college was in the next town, she was surrounded by new places she could explore and find where she liked to go and where to eat. She ended up in a bakery where a ‘purple-haired cutie’ (Yoohyeon’s words), named Minji, took her order at the cash register. Handong couldn’t forget the story she told her about how she bought practically every recommendation—drinks, cakes, cookies, _and_ sandwiches—Minji told her, leaving her no cash for the rest of the week.

“Yoohyeon, you would literally walk out of the bakery if she was at the register again.” Handong found her endearing and easy to tease, especially in something like this.

Her little sister wasn’t hard to miss, she was tall and had gray hair, so she had to have caught some attention whenever she walked in and then walked straight out again. It wouldn’t be shocking if Minji saw it happen herself.

She heard her sister grumble and, when she looked up, the college student had a pink blush on her cheeks, sipping on her milkshake.

A little too easy to tease, though.

“I’m sorry, Yoo, if you want to tell me about it, I’ll listen.”

Yoohyeon’s smile grew again, like she was never teased in the first place. “I saw her on her break and she was reading a book by herself at one of the tables. I know you shouldn’t bother people just minding their business and trying to read, but it was my chance! It was actually a book I read before, so that’s how I started the conversation.”

Handong was keeping her word and listening close, smiling at how cute and flustered her sister was regarding her longtime crush. She and their older sister, Bora, tried everything they could to encourage her to talk to Minji, but she was too shy. Handong used a gentle approach, with encouraging words and reassurance. Meanwhile, Bora used a more… _aggressive_ approach, with a strict voice and shaking her around a bit. Even then, she wouldn’t budge. It was so unlike Yoohyeon; She was always a social person.

“I couldn’t ask for her number or anything, but I’m over the moon!” She sipped her milkshake, bouncing in her seat from the sugar setting in, “What about you? Have you ever seen a girl walk in here and thought she was cute?”

“Never,” Handong was weirded out by that, a disgusted look on her face. “I’m too busy to look at someone long enough to figure out if I think they’re attractive or not.”

“Come on, there has to be a couple times, especially back then as a teenager.”

“Sorry, Yoohyeon, it never happened. I don’t think it’ll ever happen.”

“Okay,” she drawled. Seemed like she didn’t believe that. “Can I stay here until your shift is over? I want to walk you home.”

“Do you mean ‘your roommate is going home to her family today and you don’t want to be by yourself?’”

Yoohyeon was silent, staring until she let her head down, muttering, “Yes…”

* * *

Handong and Yoohyeon took the fifteen-minute walk to Handong’s home, where she lived with Bora, talking about random topics and rambles. Yoohyeon had her arm around the blonde’s shoulders, something she always did since they were kids.

“Have you visited mom at all?” Handong asked.

“I plan to tomorrow. Have you?”

“I don’t think I can.” She gripped her bag tighter. “I really should. I haven’t had the time.”

“It’s not like you have to rush or anything. I still remember how happy she was that you didn’t actually fly away to wherever you said you would go.”

“I’m sure everyone is,” Handong felt slight bitterness. “I still think about it sometimes. I don’t know now.”

“I still think you can be the singer you want to be, you sing amazingly! You’ll know when it’ll be the right time to go and chase that dream.”

“Thank you. Though, if I end up staying here for as long as I live, I guess I’m okay with that.”

Was she? She always said she would be. She was embarrassed for making such plans; It was naive of her to believe it was going to be easy. It was obvious that no one found that dream to be believable, scoffing behind her back, knowing it wasn’t going to happen. Of course Yoohyeon and Bora were happy to still have their sister close, but at least they were one of the only supportive ones.

“You like your job, just admit it.” Yoohyeon tightened her hold on her, pulling her closer.

Handong shrugged, thinking back on her years of experience there. It was a good experience, minus the unwanted attention and flirting from older men. But she handled that professionally, lying about boyfriends or acting like she didn’t hear them.

“All my resume has is ‘seven years working in InSomnia Diner.’”

It was named that because the place had never closed once. She heard stories from Bora, who also worked there, that it was a good place for college students and drunk people to come in for a safe place to be. There had been young children who got stuck in the rain come in and stay, too. Nothing bad, at least. Except for a couple times some creepy man would come in and watch one of her coworkers for an hour, maybe even standing outside the window. Luckily, nothing horrific happened regarding that.

“Moving on,” Handong’s work hours were over—she had enough of work-related anything. “Did you learn anything about Minji? Your cute cashier at In Dream Bakery?”

The gray-haired girl chuckled awkwardly, “All we really talked about was the book. I don’t really know what kind of conversation we had with it…”

“Were you so distracted by her prettiness that you weren’t listening?”

“I was paying attention!”

They approached Handong and Bora’s little abode, a typical beige house with dying grass and some potted plants by the door Handong got as gifts from her mom. Walking down the concrete path and up the porch, she entered her minimalist but messy house, with a brown-and-white scheme, filled with various cute plush toys they got from friends scattered around.

“Nannan!” Yoohyeon cooed at the gray cat that was resting on the couch, running her hand gently through his fur.

“Oh, you’ll greet the cat before me, huh?!” Bora, who was already wearing the dingy blue waitress outfit she and Handong had to wear, shouted from the kitchen.

Yoohyeon was chuckling from how humorous she was, but there was a tinge of nervousness. Bora charged at her, sending the taller girl running around the house to avoid her wrath. In turn, Nannan was also freaking out, running erratically and nearly tripping Yoohyeon.

Letting them do that, Handong set her bag on the dining table and grabbed her pile of envelopes, sifting through them to find the phone and electricity bills.

The blonde was used to their behavior, hearing their yelling and laughing going through the rooms and the hallway. They’ve always been like that ever since they were younger and, being the middle sister, Handong liked to watch the chaos. Their mom, however, didn’t like that they always fought and Handong never did anything about it. It was always out of playfulness at the end of the day and it somehow made their relationship stronger, rather than strained.

Yoohyeon cried out in a mix of shock and laughter. Safe to assume Bora caught up to her and was currently shaking her back and forth, playfully scolding her just for saying hi to Nannan first. Looks were deceiving—Bora was the shortest, but she was the strongest one. Escaping or winning anything against her was nearly impossible.

Handong took her letter opener, ripping the electricity bill envelope open, a little smirk on her face from her sisters’ little chase. Bora’s laughter was becoming louder as she walked into the kitchen again.

“Dongie!” Bora grabbed her in a backhug, looking over her shoulder at the bill. “Is that looking okay?”

“It’s my month to pay and, reading it, it looks fine.”

Handong started living with Bora when she graduated. The black-haired woman was already living alone for two years, staying in town and commuting by bus while she was going to college, the same one Yoohyeon goes to. Sadly, a while after Handong moved in, she decided to drop out. As much as she loved Geography, the debt was piling too high. Her resume was almost similar to the blonde’s: ‘nine years working in InSomnia Diner’.

Being only a diner, the owner actually paid very well. It was a small owner business, one of those ‘mom-and-pop shops’ and it was pretty much the only one in existence. For a small portion of time, they were struggling financially, barely having enough for food after paying bills and Bora’s college debt. It helped when Handong worked every single day (for an absurd amount of hours), thanks to the good pay and deciding against attending college to not create more debt.

“That’s good! We haven’t used the heating really, so that shouldn’t be high.”

“We really should… It’s freezing in here.” She shivered and felt goosebumps on her arms.

Bora let the blonde go and took her coat off the dining chair, “You guys can when I leave!”

They had a good system when it came to their work hours. Handong took on the day hours while Bora worked the night, maintaining a nice cycle of someone resting while the other worked.

“I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” Bora wrapped her younger sister in a warm hug, squeezing her tight. “Sleep well tonight.”

When she let go, Yoohyeon walked in, leading to her hugging her, “Yoo, you’re staying here?”

The youngest nodded and hugged her back, as if their little fight never happened. After saying their goodbyes, Handong continued to look at the bills.

“I’m going to get ready for bed.” Yoohyeon placed her backpack on the ground.

Handong just nodded, humming that she acknowledged her.

The younger girl gasped, grabbing her sister’s arm, “Let’s sleep on the floor, like when we were younger! Please?”

She raised her eyebrow, “What brought this on?”

“Please?” Instead of answering, she showed her signature puppy eyes, irresistible even now.

“Okay,” Handong took her letter opener, ripping the phone bill envelope open, “but you’re setting it up.”

“I will! Thank you!” She kissed her head and left to the bathroom, leaving the blonde to chuckle in amusement.

She knew why Yoohyeon wanted to do that. Girl talk. At least, their form of girl talk. Along with Bora, they’d all lie down and talk to each other about girls. She’ll never forget that day when they came out to each other, feeling the euphoric relief of all of them being interested in girls, thus they never spoke about boys.

Well, they spoke about boys sometimes. Yoohyeon expressed having crushes on both.

Handong and Bora would let their baby sister talk on and on about any pretty person she saw. She was quite descriptive, especially when talking about a girl. Bora was the only one that actually had been in relationships, but they were never serious enough to introduce them to their mom. Nonetheless, she was interesting to listen to and her good (sometimes mediocre) relationships. Lastly, Handong had never expressed or felt any interest in, well, _anyone_. She found girls pretty, but not in a 'I want to date her' kind of way. She never really wanted a relationship. She hadn’t found that person where she could really see herself being with.

She had one admirer, a girl who stopped her whenever they crossed paths or during lunch. If she recalled correctly, she was a freshman and that girl, whoever she was, was a sophomore. She couldn’t remember her face, just that she seemed like a ‘bad girl’ type, and she only stayed in school for a month, at most. That wasn’t enough time for Handong to find out if something could come out of it. All she could recall of her was how awkward she was when she flirted with her.

Her sisters admitted they believed she was getting a little lonely. They mostly said that because she was the only one that never expressed any interest. Perhaps she was, though, even she couldn’t really tell how she was feeling anymore. She loved being with them, happy enough to stay single and not worry about that kind of thing.

“Okay!” Yoohyeon ran out into the living room again, carrying a bundled up comforter and two pillows, placing them on the couch. She ran back inside again.

Smiling to herself, she took her bag and envelopes into her room, letting her puppy-like sister know she was going to pay her bills first.

“How was work in the morning, though?” Yoohyeon raised her voice as she ran back to the living room.

“It was okay! Same stuff: truckers getting coffee, high school students getting breakfast, college students getting to-go, couples that had obviously only been dating for a month sharing drinks, and traveling families in their RV getting some food. It’s never different.”

“You must be tired having to run around for hours!”

“I’m fine! I’ve been doing this for years; I’m very used to this.”

Handong changed out of her uniform for a comfortable sweatshirt and pajama pants, tying her hair in a small ponytail before sitting down to manage her money.

She spent a lot of days, every time she sat down to pay her bills, thinking to herself ‘I really am an adult now, aren’t I?’ She even offered Yoohyeon to stay with her and Bora for the entirety of her college education, but she declined. Handong and Bora didn’t understand why—She visited rather often.

She stayed on the phone, talking to a robotic voice to pay her phone bill. Vaguely, she could hear Yoohyeon playing with Nannan in the living room.

She sighed as she finished the call, writing down dates on the envelope and placing it in her semi-organized desk shelf, where other envelopes and important papers sat.

She went to the living room again and, sure enough, Yoohyeon had Nannan in her lap, scratching behind his ears and hearing him purr. She used to be quite afraid of him, but now she seemed to love him more than Handong.

“You know, you can catsit,” Handong groaned as she sat down next to them, reaching over to pet him. “Bora sleeps for most of the day and Nannan likes you a lot. I’d give you more pocket money for it.”

Yoohyeon’s eyes lit up, only to then grumble, looking down at Nannan’s chubby face, “I should’ve just lived here…”

“I said you could!”

“I thought you and Bora would have girlfriends by now or something! How weird would it be if one of you guys ended up finally finding someone and then I live here too?!”

“It’s not that weird, Yoo.”

“I think it is."

"You're one to talk; It seems like you're the one that's finally found someone."

"Touché..." Yoohyeon let Nannan walk away, allowing herself to lie down. “I just want you to find someone, Dongdong.”

“I don’t need someone,” Handong reminded her for the millionth time. “Look at this, Yoohyeon, I’m doing fine, aren’t I? Plus, I’d rather it be a surprise. Maybe you’ll be right—My dream woman will walk right through InSomnia’s door.”

“That would be awesome!” She leaned on her arm, resting her hand against her cheek, “What is your dream woman?”

The blonde shrugged, “All I wish is for her to be kind. Being tall would be a bonus.”

“Great, that could be anybody. Maybe your dream woman already walked through the door and you missed her.”

“Then she sat at another table. I don’t pay attention to people who don’t sit at my assigned tables and booths.”

“Your love life is sad, Dongdong.”

“It would only be sad if I was actively looking, which I’m not. I’m not a lovesick puppy. Like you.”

“That was uncalled for!”

“I’m just saying the truth.” Handong patted her arm, laughing at how pouty her little sister was being.

Yoohyeon turned away, hogging the blanket, “Whatever, you’re adopted.”

“You are too!” The blonde sneered, but amused, nonetheless.

Handong rolled her eyes. It was a funny joke between them as they both grew up together in the same foster home, then got adopted together by their mom. Bora was adopted a few years later, but it didn’t take long before she joined in. Their mom didn’t like this kind of banter, but they found it funny.

Handong continued, sighing, “Guess I won’t be cooking for you tonight.”

“You were going to make me something?!” Yoohyeon flipped over and grabbed the blonde’s arm, a shocked look on her face.

“Not anymore.”

“No! Dongdong, I’m hungry!” Her younger sister latched onto her, wrapping her long arms around her shoulders, “I’m sorry!”

“Eat cereal, Yoohyeon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so what did you think?? pls let me know with a comment 😊  
> see yall on saturday!


	2. Chapter 2

“Nine p.m.?”

Even the _possibility_ of being given a night shift was her nightmare. Now, hearing her boss’ voice on the other side, she was told her schedule will be nighttime for an unknown amount of days.

Her boss (and owner of the diner), an elderly woman who was simply the nicest, explained how a coworker couldn’t go tonight because he lost a loved one and was now taking time off. She was also adamant on paying her extra, since everyone she had called said no and it was really last minute. The extra pay wasn’t needed; Handong was already feeling deep sympathy for the guy. She couldn't bring herself to decline. Therefore, she took the offer and said she’ll go into work at nine p.m.

She sighed as she hung up the call. Scratching her head, she went into the kitchen, where Yoohyeon was sitting at the dining room table, eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes Handong handed her. She gave it to her before she could even _think_ about asking for a cooked meal. Meanwhile, Bora was sitting across from her, visibly exhausted as she arrived home moments ago, scrolling through her phone.

“Well, I have a night shift this time.” Handong grabbed a mug from the dishwasher and a green tea bag from the cupboard.

That woke the black-haired woman from her fatigue, gasping and sitting upright and spinning towards her in her chair, “For real?!”

“That’s something new!” Yoohyeon perked up too. “It’s nice to change the routine sometimes.”

“I guess…” Handong mumbled, filling her tea kettle with water and heating it on the stove.

“This is exciting, Dongie!” Bora stood up and bounced to her, “We get to go together tonight!”

Handong was happy about that part. They couldn’t hang out with each other very much anymore. They always mentioned from time to time that they might have overlapping schedules some day. She always wondered what she was like on work hours too; She only knew her as her loud, sometimes overbearing older sister.

Yoohyeon finished her orange juice, standing up to wash her empty cup and bowl. “I’d sleep now if I were you.”

“I’ll try. I’m used to waking up early; I’ve had the day shift for so long.”

“I know, but you’ll thank yourself once you get sleep to get through the night.”

The tea kettle began to whistle, prompting Handong to turn the stove knob off.

“Okay, I’ll head out to class now.” Yoohyeon dried her hands and turned to her. “Do I look okay?”

The blonde looked her up and down as she sipped her tea. A yellow beanie, her college sweatshirt, ripped black jeans, and her beat-up converse shoes—a typical outfit for her.

Bora scoffed, ready to say a diss before Handong spoke first, “You look comfortable. Heading to see Minji?”

“If she’s already at work.” Yoohyeon kissed Handong’s and Bora’s heads. “Rest well! Hope you have a nice first night shift.”

“Thank you, enjoy your classes today.”

Yoohyeon grabbed her backpack and went out the door, waving her hand one last time before leaving.

Bora went back to squealing, grabbing Handong’s arms and squeezing, unable to stay still, “I’ve never been excited to go to work before!”

“You’re the only thing that’s making me not dread this.”

Bora jutted her lower lip, her eyebrows furrowing, “Why did you take the hours if you don’t really want them?”

Handong sighed, lowering her mug, “The coworker that works with you lost a loved one recently… No one else took the offer, so I took it.”

As Bora was showing her a knowing, sad smile, the blonde added, “But I do want to work with you! We haven’t been able to spend any time together, so I’m looking forward to going.”

The shorter woman smiled in happiness this time, “Not a lot happens at night anyway. Though, if something does, I will—” 

The door flew open, startling Handong and nearly spilling her drink.

“Hey!” Bora screamed at the door, where Yoohyeon was halfway inside the house.

“I forgot,” she was visibly embarrassed, scratching at the back of her neck as she laughed, “I love you!”

The blonde chuckled, her hand still on her chest from getting a near heart attack, “Love you too.”

“Love you too but go! You’ll be late!”

Yoohyeon laughed louder, making sure to lock the door first and then left, making Handong and Bora laugh.

Their sister was silly sometimes.

* * *

“Wake up, Dongie!” Bora shook the blonde awake, her loud voice startling her more than any alarm clock ever could. “You got an hour and a half to get ready!”

She was already dressed and she was a lot more energized than how she was in the morning. Handong was able to get sleep, but her body wasn’t used to it, so it made her feel worse, rather than better. Needless to say, she was _not_ thanking herself for this.

She got up from bed, groggily fixing it before leaving it alone again, seeing Nannan was sleeping in the middle of it. She took a quick shower, leaving her hair a wavy mess and, being so tired, she decided against putting makeup on. She always did put some on for her day shift, and she never had a day where she didn’t wear any. Though, she had a feeling this day would come eventually.

She got close to Nannan, pursing her lips for a kiss but didn’t touch him, only making a kissy sound instead. She put a jacket on, grabbed her bag, and left her house, her arm hooked with her older sister’s.

“You don’t have to worry about any kind of rush anymore,” Bora patted her arm comfortingly. “Nowadays, though, this drunk stay-at-home mom will come through and talk to one of us about her problems. That doesn’t last long, though.”

Handong snickered, though felt sad for whoever that was, “Good to know.”

She was aware of her surroundings, not paying any mind to passing couples on late dates or groups of friends sharing cigarettes. They arrived to work safely, seeing there were already some customers. Bora went ahead to clock in and help the customers, while the blonde greeted the cooks in the back and clocked herself in after. Assuming her station behind the bar, she let the lone students use the free Wi-Fi.

Everything was clean, the people weren’t bothering anyone, and she heard the cooks having a conversation behind the serving window. Shrugging, she took her phone out of her apron pocket and saw she got messages from Yoohyeon.

Nine messages, to be exact.

**Puppy Yoo:  
**[Dongdong!]  
[I saw Minji again!]  
[I wanted to drink something after class]  
[So I got a coffee and I was waiting]  
[She came up to me with a slice of chocolate cake!]  
[She told me she made it herself!]  
[The cake is delicious!]  
[She looked so cute today! She was wearing these big cute circle glasses and a really big jacket!]  
[I just want to squeeze her!]

Handong smiled at her screen, texting back how proud and happy she was that Yoohyeon was finally talking to her crush. She could imagine her jumping for joy, in the middle of the sidewalk, and squealing her heart out.

After sending the text, Handong played a game on her phone, a RPG about a knight who must uncover the mystery behind his brother’s disappearance. She rarely ever played it anymore; she didn’t remember where she last left off.

“What are you standing over here for, Dongie?” Bora walked around the bar, preparing a couple cups of coffee.

“I always stand here,” Handong replied, shrugging her shoulders as she kept her eyes on her phone screen.

Bora chuckled under her breath, “At least sit at a table. Go to one and I’ll sit with you.”

The blonde rolled her eyes and turned her game off, following her order and went to Yoohyeon’s favorite booth. She let out a yawn as she sat down again, looking out the front windows she was facing, seeing some cars drive by and a few people walking or standing, talking and laughing with each other.

She never took the time to walk out like those people did. It wasn’t the biggest town in the world. In fact, it was a town where everyone knew everyone. Seeing all the lights of the still-open businesses surrounding them, cars’ headlights cruising through, streetlights illuminating the townspeople, she felt like wanting to join for a little stroll.

“Alright,” Bora sat down across from her, sighing and resting her arms on the table.

“You’re right—not a lot happens at night,” Handong redirected her attention, seeing her sister smiling and not a tired bone in her body.

“It makes the job easy,” Bora shrugged her shoulders. “I’m glad we could spend it together this time!”

“Me too.”

The sisters spent their time having a conversation about anything that came to mind: Bora’s stories about any interesting customers she served, any shows they watched recently, speaking more about Yoohyeon and her crush… then about Handong.

“What about you, Dongie? Where are you in the romance thing?”

“I’m not even in it,” Handong scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t think about it. I’m not interested in anybody. I haven’t found anybody that I want to pursue. Why are you and Yoohyeon so curious about that for me?”

“Because you’ve never spoken about it for yourself! Dongie, whoever captures your heart is going to be extremely lucky!”

The blonde sighed, chuckling airily at the compliment. She didn’t know how to respond to it; It was unbelievable to her. She narrowed it down to her older sister just being supportive.

The diner’s bell, hanging above the door, rang, causing the two women to cut their conversation.

Handong watched as the mysterious stranger, clad in a leather jacket, black jeans, and short blue hair, take a seat at the end of the bar and take a menu from the pile placed next to her. The blonde gulped as she stayed in her seat, struck by her presence, feeling a strange lure towards her. She had never seen someone like this. That style wasn’t seen much around town, if not at all. To see someone walk in with such an eye-catching aura, she had to stop for a moment.

“Should I go?” Handong turned to Bora again. “Or should you go?”

“I served everyone else here; It’s your turn.”

Waiting a few minutes before standing, she walked around the bar and approached her with quiet, short steps.

“Are you ready or do you still need time?”

The woman looked up, her intense eyes looking into Handong’s. She seemed stunned for a moment, her lips parting, her eyes widening and staring, seemingly taking in the blonde’s every feature. Remembering she was barefaced, she was becoming increasingly self-conscious.

“Miss?” She felt like cowering away, regretting not taking a few minutes to put eyeliner and a lip tint on.

The woman blinked and shook her head, chuckling under her breath, “I’m sorry. You’re very pretty.”

Handong clenched her jaw, ignoring the tiny skip in her chest. Looking at her, she was very attractive. Her eyes were inspecting and piercing through her, her hair was so vibrant and shiny, and being so well-dressed at such an hour, she was feeling so dull and unkempt in comparison to her.

She hummed, now looking at her with interest, “What’s your favorite here?”

“My favorite?”

She nodded, looking down again to scan the many options and meals the diner offered.

“Well,” Handong pinched the top of the menu and tilted it down. She didn’t know why she did that; She never did that before. She was a little close for comfort with this complete stranger, only wanting to point at the item she wanted to find. She felt the woman’s eyes were on her instead, but she kept her gaze down. “I usually just eat the typical burger and fries. The classic hamburger. It’s kind of big. The portion of the fries is rather plentiful.”

She had to look up again for a response. They made eye contact again as she leaned back, a small smile on her face for politeness.

“I’ll take that then,” she said, smiling at her with her devilish red lips, “with a cup of coffee.”

“Coming right up.” Handong took her notepad and wrote the order, clearing her throat as she placed it at the window. She walked around the bar to go clean up a table a student left all of their empty coffee mugs on.

For some reason, she still felt like she was being watched. She was being watched by Bora, surely, but by the woman too. She had never seen her before and she never encountered someone with her style. Leather jacket with red plaid? Blue hair? And she never expected someone like her to find her pretty, even in this state. She was intrigued with who exactly this was. She gave off the impression she was friendly, but her aura didn’t match. Her mere presence asserted itself the moment she walked in.

The sound of the window call bell brought her back to her senses, sending her to the window to bring the woman her late-night meal. She sat it down in front of her and went to get a mug, pouring black coffee and giving it to her. She muttered an ‘enjoy’ before leaving again, avoiding her eyes.

Yoohyeon would love to hear about this encounter. This strange attraction was so new for Handong, she wasn’t sure what to do with it.

However, her older sister witnessed it from beginning to end.

She sat across from Bora again, who was staring at her with a surprised look on her face. “What was that?” She asked, her eyebrows raising.

“What was what?”

“That!” Bora’s voice alarmed the room. It caused the blue-haired woman to turn around to see what happened. Handong glared at her and she lowered her voice, “There was something going on between you two.”

“There’s nothing ‘going on’. I just took her order and gave her food. You know, our job.”

“Dongie, I’ve never leaned in that close to a customer and I’m sure all the other waiters and waitresses that work here would say that too!”

“It’s nothing; you’re looking too much into this.”

Bora was saying nonsense. This was just a customer who just so happened to be attractive to her. It could very much be her one and only one visit. Her strange reactions were unprompted.

To her luck, her phone vibrated, letting her escape Bora’s grilling for a moment.

**Puppy Yoo:  
**[When are you coming home?]

She replied, [Five in the morning]. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard, wanting to tell her about this woman and how she might be attracted to her. But, even Bora just witnessing it was too much already. She just served her—that was all that was.

**Puppy Yoo:  
**[Anything interesting happen?]

This was her chance. She could tell the truth or she could just lie. One could lead to Yoohyeon persistently telling her to pursue or nothing. She rested her head on her hand as she thought, weighing her options.

Sighing, she decided on typing [No] _._

Handong tucked her hair behind her ear, pressing her lips together as her thumb was close to send. Maybe she should just tell her. But, this was just one night. Reiterating, this woman could just be someone passing through town to wherever she was heading, and this was the one and only time she’ll ever see her.

Then, the door’s bell rang. She looked up and she was gone. She thought she could see her leave through the windows, but no. She vanished into the night.

“And just like that, she’s gone,” Bora sighed, reaching over to pat Handong’s hand. “There goes your lover.”

Handong glared at her, getting up to clean the mess and saw she had left a large sum of cash. That was rather generous for an inexpensive meal. Counting it, it left her with a twenty-dollar and some change tip. She placed it in her apron pocket and grabbed her phone, sending the single word text to her sister.

Without another interesting encounter or customer, she got through her first night shift smoothly.

* * *

“Nothing at all?” Yoohyeon asked for the third time, digging her chopsticks into her cup of ramen.

She visited Handong and Bora’s house, since she didn’t have any classes for the day. Handong and Bora were too tired to cook anything for her, but thankfully, Yoohyeon carried random cup noodles in her backpack.

The blonde nodded, rubbing her eyes from how drowsy she felt, “Nothing at all. Just college students wanting Wi-Fi and a warm place to stay.”

After a little argument between Handong and Bora, the black-haired woman gave in and decided to keep the stranger a secret. Like usual, the blonde liked to keep her feelings away from her sisters until she was sure. This was almost like a milestone in their lives and Bora wanted to talk about it _so_ badly. The two rarely ever had any fights; So rare, it surprised her older sister when she raised her voice. It truly was a huge deal.

“I don’t know what else I expected.” She slurped her noodles, loud and breaking the low mood.

“Just tell us about Minji, it’ll make all of us feel better.” Handong held her fleece blanket around her shoulders closer, sitting between her sisters on their couch.

A grin from ear-to-ear appeared on the youngest girl’s face, “I was leaving class and went to the bakery. She wasn’t there as the cashier, so I was a little sad at first. When I was waiting, she was the one who brought my coffee to me! And then, she handed me a little box and it was the chocolate cake inside! It sort of just came out, but I told her she looked pretty! She has a cute laugh, you guys! She baked it and it was so good! I wanted to leave some for you, but it was really good. I ate all of it.”

“She made it for you, so you should eat it.” Bora rested against the arm rest, looking at the gray-haired girl with a tired smile.

Handong crossed her legs, smiling at the story. “I’m happy for you, Yoohyeon. She seems to be taking a liking for you back.”

“I think she’s just being nice.”

“She baked a cake for you.”

“It was a slice! She might’ve made it for the bakery and just took one.”

“Perhaps. Still, that’s a lot of work to go through.”

“Felt a little bad, though. I kind of forgot about Yubin. We were supposed to study together and I forgot because I wanted to eat cake.”

Handong pressed her lips together, but they were twitching from wanting to laugh. Yubin was Yoohyeon’s roommate and had been friends since they started living together in the dorm. All Handong knew was that she was studying Audio Production and Recording Arts and was a reserved type of person, quite the opposite of Yoohyeon. Though she said she was fun to hang out with and was louder than she looked. All those years of friendship led to her getting stood up because a certain tall girl was caught up with eating.

Bora, however, bursted out cackling from Yoohyeon’s unintentional mistake.

Yoohyeon whined, reaching over to give her a smack on her leg, “Don’t laugh! I already texted her and I’m going to see her later.”

The blonde let herself smile as the two started to slap and yell at each other, stuck in the middle of them. Pushing herself further away so she wouldn’t get hit in the crossfire, she gradually began laughing. Her laughter led to them laughing louder, hitting each other's hands more than any other body part. Eventually, Bora shot up and grabbed Yoohyeon before she could escape and started to shake her back and forth, hitting her against the couch. Their baby sister was cracking up and yelling, though it was futile as Handong backed away from their squabble.

As the laughter died down, her sisters becoming tired and her attack slowing down, Handong wondered if she was going to see that stranger again. If she would sit in the same seat, ask for the same thing, and then disappear again. She shouldn’t be so infatuated with this individual. She couldn’t forget her face; It was like she saw her seconds ago. That blue-haired mysterious woman was probably miles away from town by now.

But, she really hoped to see her again.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days passed and that woman hadn’t shown up again since. Handong couldn’t be sad; She was just another customer. Bora wouldn’t stop nagging about her, saying that the blonde missed her chance, but it didn’t mean anything.

She was beginning to like her night shift, considering Yoohyeon’s tab was finally at a halt and she didn’t have to deal with a lunch rush. She was getting used to her new sleeping schedule too, feeling more and more refreshed.

As soon as Handong was forgetting about the woman, though, she showed up again.

It was already after midnight, a lot later than the first time. Bora nudged the blonde’s side with her elbow, smirking and telling her to go serve her. Handong asked her, several times, to go do it instead, but to no avail. The woman sat in a booth, making Handong walk over to hand her a menu. She had to ignore the fact that she seemed more attractive than the last time she saw her, her blue was slightly faded, still dressed in her biker, punk fashion, now with circular glasses perched on her face.

“Nice to see you again.” She said to the blonde, her eyes blatantly checking her out, going from her legs to her eyes. Handong ignored it, sliding the menu onto the table.

“Likewise.”

“Oh, you remember me?”

“It’s hard to forget someone with blue hair.” Handong found herself biting her lower lip. She didn’t know what was going on with herself; That was so weird for her to do. “What will it be tonight?”

“I’m craving something sweet.” The woman looked at the dessert options.

“I recommend just a pie right now. It’s a little too cold for ice cream and milkshakes.”

‘A little’ was the nicest adjective she could give. Nighttime was brutal when it came to the weather in her town; It was freezing to the bone out there.

“Pie sounds nice.” She put the menu down and looked up at her, resting her head on her hand, showing clear interest once again. “What’s your favorite?”

Handong chuckled, “I had a feeling you’d say that. Um…”

She had to get close again, her arm nearly touching hers to look at the menu. She hummed, “I’ve only eaten a few, but I found the caramel apple one to be tasty.”

“Two slices of that then.”

Handong didn’t think much of it, two seemed enough for one person. There was one time she gave someone an entire key lime pie and they ate it by themselves. Another time, someone asked for three blueberry double crust pies and they ate all of those too!

She went and grabbed two from the display, feeling the woman’s eyes on her, placing two slices on one big plate and a fork, and served it to her.

Before she left, the woman said, “This one’s for you.”

Handong stopped and looked at her, then at the pie, then at her again. “Do you eat desserts with waitresses often, miss?”

“Only if they’re as beautiful as you,” The woman pushed the plate towards the middle of the table, “and you’re the only one.”

She swore her heart skipped a beat. She straightened her back, not wanting to show she was being won over so easily. The diner had the usual students and it wasn’t like the cooks were going to say anything. It was Bora she was worried about.

“Give me a minute to think about it,” Handong said and the woman nodded.

She went to Bora, who was grinning at the interaction she had just witnessed. Handong was frustrated and spiraling, not reacting too well to the straightforward flirting. She rarely ever reacted the way she did. The black-haired woman didn’t give her a chance to talk it out, spinning her around again and sending her back to where she came from.

“Bora!” Handong hissed in a whisper-yell through her teeth, spinning back around again. She felt that woman was watching again.

“Dongie!” She whisper-yelled back, “She’s crazy sexy, go back there!”

Why couldn’t that stranger like Bora?! Everyone always preferred and wanted her. Had she told Bora to go serve her instead, she wouldn’t have to deal with this. She’d be the one listening to her going on about how attractive she was. They were both natural flirts; It was perfect! But, this was what happened—she was the one who captured the attention of an attractive woman. _She_ was the one she was interested in. She was cursing herself internally, again, because for the past three nights she decided to wear minimal makeup, in hopes she’d show up. When she decided to go barefaced instead, she showed up!

“Go!” Bora waved her hand, shooing the blonde away.

Handong huffed, left to take her apron off and grabbed a fork. She went back to the table; The woman still hadn’t taken a bite of her slice yet.

“You’re lucky it isn’t busy.” She tried to play it off smoothly, but she didn’t know how to feel about the attention she was getting.

Once she sat across from her, the woman said, “I’m lucky for lots of things.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Being able to sit here with you.”

Handong rolled her eyes, cutting into her pie and taking a bite. “You’re overdoing it.”

“I like the blush on your face.”

The blonde touched her face and her cheeks were warm. She was annoyed, internally cursing herself once more for reacting that way. “Nobody has ever talked to me like you do before.”

There was a pause before the woman nodded, looking down for a second while smiling again, “I expected you to always have people flocking to you.”

She found that interesting. Her reaction, the way her smile looked. It looked familiar to her for some reason. She found herself staring for a second before she blinked.

“Does all the elderly men from my day shift count as ‘flocking to me?’”

“I’ll break their canes so they can’t.”

Handong held a laugh, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, “Some of them can walk perfectly fine, you know.”

“I’ll break their hips then!”

She couldn’t hold it in this time, having to drop her fork, covering her mouth with her hands to bounce with laughter. “No need for that, miss!”

“Just saying.” The woman finally started eating her food.

Handong tilted her head to the side, finding herself liking her. She wasn’t sure of what it was yet, but she knew she liked her.

This led to an aimless conversation, talking (but not giving a lot of details) about Handong’s day shift over the years, remembering various stories and customers, and the woman showed full interest and cracked jokes from time to time. The blonde was able to find moments where the woman was not paying attention to get a good look at her. Her eyes were captivating and her short hair framed her jawline so well. The blue suited her, as if she should’ve been born with that color. Her full lips were covered in matte red lipstick. Her long, sharp nails were painted black. Her same leather jacket paired with her black on black outfit. She was very attractive; Handong hadn’t found someone this attractive before in her life.

The woman looked down at the empty plate between them, “I guess I should head out now.”

She dug through her jacket’s pocket for her wallet and took out almost the exact amount, leaving a couple dollars and some cents, looking to be a tiny tip. After, she took a twenty-dollar bill out, saying, “Thank you for spending time with me.”

She slid it across the table, but Handong slid it back, “Thank you, but… I think learning your name would be much more rewarding.” That was the smoothest thing she had said all-night. Or, ever in her life. She really didn’t want it again, regardless of spending time with her or not. It was strange for her to get that much, and it felt stranger getting it after spending time with her like this.

The blue-haired woman smiled, her teeth showing and eyes sparkling, “It’s Siyeon. Lee Siyeon.”

“Thank you for the nice chat, Lee Siyeon,” her name rolled off her tongue nicely. “I had a good time.”

They stood up and Siyeon took a step closer, a smirk now gracing her lips. “Do you work tomorrow night?”

Feeling a little bolder (and perhaps wanting to give Bora a little show), she said, “You’ll just have to come by and find out.”

“I will,” she looked down, then up again, “Handong.”

The blonde watched her leave, until she was too far to see. She smiled to herself and looked down at the table.

She left the twenty dollar bill.

She scoffed and put it in her apron pocket, picking up the plate and putting it in the sink in the kitchen as the dishwasher boy was drying a mug.

“Dongie!” Bora was across the room, zooming around the tables and grabbing her in a tight hug, surprising the blonde before hugging her back.

She dragged her to the closest table and sat with her head resting on her hands, leaning over to hear the juicy details of her sister and her customer. “What just happened?! Was that a date?! Did I witness my dear little sister on a date?!”

“I don’t think it was a date.” Handong chuckled. Though, she wondered if it really was, now that Bora named it as such. “Her name is Lee Siyeon. She’s easy to talk to and quite funny. Charming is a good word to describe her.”

Bora squealed, her hands waving in excitement. She was deeply interested in her romantic story, a lot more than she should be, and she was probably plotting to help her with that.

“Bora,” Handong had to admit how she really felt about this, “I feel like if you had gone to her instead, this wouldn’t be happening.”

The black-haired woman raised her eyebrows, her smile falling after hearing that.

“I mean, look at you! You’ve always been the prettiest one on Earth! Everyone always liked you and wanted to be with you. Why me? You two are more of a perfect match than me and her.”

Bora waved it off, “Sure, but nonsense, Dongie! You’re very beautiful too! And I’m not just saying that because you’re my sister.” The blonde was taken aback, not expecting a compliment after indirectly saying she didn’t find herself pretty. “But, Handong, this is it! You never dated anyone, ever, and you’ve only ever worked and took care of me and Yoohyeon, now is your chance! You’re a good person, always so kind and caring, you deserve this. Plus, look at her! Admit it, you think she’s super hot, right?”

“She is… very attractive. I don’t know; It felt so… coincidental? The day before that, Yoohyeon was whining about me being single after all this time, and then minutes before she first showed up, we were talking about it too! All of a sudden, this incredibly beautiful and delightful woman comes through the door and is interested in me?” Handong scoffed at how unbelievable it sounded. It was too good to be true. But it was true. She was living some sort of cheesy rom-com movie. Was it as predictable as one? Only time could tell. “She has to be from out of town. No one here looks even a little similar to her.”

“That makes it even more romantic!” Bora reached over and grabbed the blonde’s hands in a firm grip, beaming at her. “She’s traveling long distances just to see you? To eat food with you? Doesn’t that make you feel honored?”

“If you put it like that…”

* * *

Handong and Bora practically skipped together, arms hooked, back to their home. Neither woman had a tired bone in their bodies, fully energized and happy.

The blonde was in such a good mood that, after greeting Nannan resting as a cat loaf on the couch, she decided to make it up to Yoohyeon and cook her something special. (And to thank Bora for keeping her mouth shut about Siyeon.)

Stir fry was Handong’s specialty. It was the first recipe she ever learned and mastered, and her sisters always asked (more like begged) her to make it for them when they were younger. They always insisted hers had a different, better taste. As an adult, she kept it as something she made whenever she felt happy.

Sadly, it had been a while until now.

Bora went out grocery shopping recently and just so happened to buy the ingredients she needed, much to her relief. She hummed as she made it, a smile on her face as she cooked, still thinking about Siyeon. She was sure this was how Yoohyeon felt about Minji, at least close to how she felt. She was looking forward to seeing her again.

If she doesn’t decide on disappearing for three days again.

She probably won’t show up, if she were to tease her like that. It would only be fair to pretend to not remember who she was if she were to do that.

Smelling the delicious harmony of chicken, garlic, and teriyaki sauce, she mixed them with broccoli, carrots, bok choy, and green beans. It wasn’t the exact same recipe as the one she used to use—It was just the general take on it. As she let it cook, she sent a quick text to Yoohyeon, knowing she had no classes today. All she said was that she made it and she could come by to get some. She noticed that Yoohyeon hadn’t sent a text at all. She found it a little weird; Perhaps the girl had an interesting story to tell.

Bora wasted no time taking a serving for herself. Understandable, since it’d been a while since she cooked _at all_ and it was usually Bora who did the cooking amongst the three. She knew exactly why it was made, sending her a little smirk as she got her serving. She finished quickly, however, washing her dish and leaving to shower.

Handong was able to finish her own bowl of it before she heard excited knocks on her door. Yoohyeon practically squeezed her way through as the door was opening, skipping inside and sighing with delight as she smelled the air.

She grabbed a big bowl and started to scoop the stir fry, unable to stop moving, humming until she was done getting her serving.

“Thanks, Dongdong!” Yoohyeon engulfed her in a tight hug, which she happily returned. The taller girl then sat down and clapped her hands together, “I’ll eat it well!”

“Have as much as you like.”

She ate, the only sound in the room was her eating, humming, slurping, and biting her chopsticks. It lasted a couple minutes before she looked up, her cheeks full as she observed her sister sitting across from her.

She swallowed, asking, “What has you all smiley?”

Handong perked, not realizing there was a slight ache in her cheeks from the smile she had. Thinking fast, she replied, “I’m just happy to be spending more time with Bora.”

“That’s good! Does she act the same at work too?”

“She’s a little serious, but since I’m there, yeah. Maybe when I’m not she’s more formal.” The blonde straightened her back. “I saw you didn’t text me. Did something happen with Minji? With Yubin?”

“Yubin was cool with what happened after I told her about Minji. She was able to finish her assignment on her own!” She nearly slammed her chopsticks down, continuing, “But Minji! Minji! She looked completely different yesterday. I’ve only seen her with her glasses and her big sweaters but yesterday?! Yesterday?! She had to dress more professionally for this gathering or whatever with a friend and, Dongdong, I was sweating!”

She took a deep breath and grabbed Handong’s arm, “She didn’t have her glasses anymore and she wore a professional suit, like with the black jacket and everything! She looked like she matured a lot, she looked so… so—”

“Sexy?”

“Sexy!” Yoohyeon squeezed her arm tight, “I was such a mess but she wanted to talk! She brought me another cake, but instead of a slice, it was one of those mini sampler cakes! It was matcha green tea and she said she made it just for me! It was so good! I told her I’ve been wanting to visit more often, but all I do is run around, doing other things! Do you know what she said to me, Dongdong?”

“What?”

Yoohyeon reached over, cupping Handong’s cheeks, “‘It’s okay, Yoohyeon, I’m always happy to see you no matter what time it is.’”

She squealed as she took her hands back and covered her face. She was squirming in her seat from how happy she was. Handong felt nothing like this being with Siyeon. She was happy, but more in a relaxed, comfortable way. It’d only been two nights, but she found her company rather pleasant and enjoyable. She always had a shy personality, so people had a hard time getting to know her.

But not Siyeon. She had somehow found her way in without too much trouble. That was brand new and she genuinely liked it.

“She had to leave so I couldn’t get her number again! Dongdong, does she like me?”

“I’m pretty sure she does.” She nodded, chuckling at how Yoohyeon was pulling down on her beanie. “That sounds like flirting to me.”

Her little sister froze like a statue, as if her mind was still processing her interactions with Minji and how maybe, just maybe (aka most definitely), she was reciprocating her feelings.

“Hey.” Handong snapped her fingers in front of her sister’s face, making her blink, “Finish your food so I could sleep. I can feel the exhaustion hit me now.”

* * *

“Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!” Bora shook the blonde awake; Her voice was loud enough to wake Nannan, who was also sleeping on the bed.

It felt like a long sleep. Instead of feeling worse, Handong felt better, eating another small serving of her stir fry with Bora for dinner before getting ready for work. She decided to actually try this time, making herself look better than how she looked most days for work, finishing with putting her hair in a half ponytail and wearing her favorite light pink lip tint.

Bora was in awe as Handong walked out of the bathroom, her eyes widening, gasping, “Getting pretty for Siyeon?”

“I wanted to get pretty for myself,” the blonde smiled innocently, putting her jacket on and slinging her purse on her shoulder.

“‘Myself’ is an interesting nickname.”

Hooking their arms together, they went on their smooth walk and went into the diner, getting hit by the sweet scent in the air. Someone must’ve ordered hot chocolate. Handong clocked in and set her stuff down in her locker, and then left outside again, once again wondering if Siyeon was going to show up this time. The thought of her not showing up again was, truthfully, annoying.

Bora busied herself while waiting for the blonde, cleaning tables and organizing napkin dispensers, stopping immediately as soon as she came out of the break room.

“God, what if she doesn’t show up again…” It was more of a statement, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Have you seen the way she looks at you?!” The shorter woman looked at her in shock and confusion. “I don’t think she’ll ever pass another night without you again!”

Handong didn’t want to get her hopes up too high. Her feelings towards Siyeon were all over the place. This wouldn’t have been so difficult if someone, her _big sister_ of all people, wasn’t watching her.

“Still…” Honestly, she really was a little nervous. “She hasn’t seen me actually look good. I’m sick of having no makeup on in front of her…”

“Aha!” Bora pointed her finger at her, “You did get ready for her!”

Before Handong could retort, the door’s bell rang and seeing blue hair made her heart jump. She sat in the same booth and took her phone out, obviously waiting for Handong to go up to her. She saw her leg bouncing, like she was anxious to see her again.

“There’s your cue, Dongie.” Bora squeezed her hands, supportive and still grinning from ear to ear. “Go get her.”

She took a deep breath, walking over and straightening her uniform. It was really now or never again. She just had to play at her little game, act a little hard to get, and knock her confidence down. Siyeon noticed her coming and smiled at her, stuffing her phone away into her pocket.

“You really came.” Handong stayed standing, feeling Bora’s eyes watching and burning holes through her, hyper-aware that she had an audience. If only she wasn’t there.

“Of course I did. I’d never pass up the opportunity to spend another dinner with a beautiful woman.”

“Oh, you’ve spent dinner with other beautiful women before.” She took a jab at her, hoping it’d knock her down.

“Sorry, ‘a beautiful woman’ translates to you.”

Handong hummed, rolling her eyes at the ridiculously cheesy line. But she’d be a liar if she said it didn’t make her feel a little warmer. She could even melt from how warm she was. “If I were to accept another meal with you, will you let it be on me this time?”

Siyeon chuckled, raising her brow, “That’s nonsense, I can pay.”

“I just want to thank you for yesterday night. You made my night a whole lot better and made this shift a lot more worth it.”

Siyeon was now the one blushing, heightening Handong’s confidence. She was proud to make her react as she did. The blue-haired woman shook her head, getting herself out of the trance she put herself in. “And if I say no?”

“Then, I’ll give you your meal and we’ll pick this up tomorrow. This is my job, you know.”

She saw the slight surprise in her eyes. Handong smirked, not making this so easy on her. She didn’t expect it to be as easy as it was, but she was relieved. However, it was true—Handong was sacrificing her work time to be with Siyeon. She shouldn’t be associating herself and getting closer to a customer. And, if she wanted to, she could do it in a more subtle way and outside of work. She didn’t pursue her first, but her giving her the time of day was unprofessional too.

“Fine then,” Siyeon nodded, “I’ll let you pay this time.”

“What’ll it be tonight?” Handong was still smiling, happy that she finally won something in their back and forth.

“I’d like your favorite burger and fries tonight. Two of them.”

Handong could laugh at her persistence and obviousness, but she didn’t, leaving and writing on her notepad as she walked to the window. As she placed the ticket down, Bora grabbed her hand and pulled her into the break room, a big, cheek-hurting smile on her face as she squeezed the life out of Handong’s hand.

“I swear, Dongie, you’re a natural at this!”

“She’s trying a little too hard tonight, so it’s easy to fire back.” The blonde let her shoulders slump after, “I don’t know about this, Bora—”

“Stop thinking about that. This hot girl wants you, okay? And it’s good that you’re acting and playing back with her. You have her, just keep doing whatever that was!”

Handong grumbled, but she had to keep going. She liked Siyeon and Siyeon was trying her best to win her heart. She was getting closer, feeling something different when she was with her for that small interaction. Accepting she was in deep now, she nodded and left into the diner again.

* * *

It was similar to yesterday night. Eating a meal together, telling each other random stories of anything that came to mind, and enjoying each other’s company. Siyeon was acting a little different, maybe because Handong was acting differently herself, showing a shyer, more flustered side of her. Siyeon lightened the atmosphere with any topic and Handong just listened, resting her head on her hand, laughing when appropriate, seeing a more child-like personality. There was an innocent glimmer in her eyes, the intensity was gone, and it was clear she was in a relaxed, comfortable mood. She knew that the blue-haired woman chose this item in particular because, obviously, it was more for dinner and was bigger than a slice of pie. Meaning, she could stay longer.

“So, do you live around here? Are you one of those night owls?” Handong asked, eating her last fry after.

“I am, but I actually live in the city a few hours away.”

The blonde’s eyes widened, not believing that Bora was right about Siyeon going a long distance just to see her. She felt her cheeks getting warm again. “You’re telling me you drive all that time just to get here?”

“It’s worth the trip.” Siyeon winked at her. “Plus, I only meant to visit once. I lived here for a little and only ate here one time. Just wanted to experience it and try to remember anything.”

“Do you remember when you lived here?” Handong was intrigued now.

“When I was…” Siyeon took a sip of her soda, pressing her lips together after. “I don’t really remember; I just know I lived here. I used to move around so much, I don’t remember some of the places I used to live in.”

“Oh,” Handong leaned back, “I’ve lived here my entire life. I feel like I would’ve at least remembered seeing you.”

“I look really different now, so… I don’t think I’m all that recognizable anymore.”

Her sentence sounded odd. Her voice gradually became smaller and smaller, until it eventually faded.

“Not in like a plastic surgery kind of way!” Siyeon’s body stiffened and her eyes widened to a comically large size. Handong giggled at her reaction. “I mean, like, I wasn’t able to choose how I wanted to dress or what I wanted to do with my hair. Those are things I like about being older now.”

“I wasn’t thinking about it in that way, Siyeon. I can’t relate; My mom let me dye my hair bright orange in high school.” Handong laughed at the memory of her teenage self. “I stuck out in crowds and always captured everyone’s attention. I liked it a lot, maybe I’d try it again, but I quite like this color right now.”

“You look beautiful.” Of course, she took the opportunity to compliment. Handong just rolled her eyes. “Do you have pictures of orange-haired you?”

Handong grabbed her phone from her jacket pocket and opened the gallery, knowing if she went back far enough, she’d have a picture. She kind of cringed when she found one, a selfie of her trying to be cute and using the peace sign. She was only sixteen in the photo, having to dye it back to a darker color again when she got her job. She tried to find a better photo, she took millions of selfies, but they were all of her acting cute. She eventually found a photo of her and Yoohyeon, her hair newly saturated orange and her sister’s was a light gray color. She sure loved that color.

“This is me and my sister. We like to dye our hair a lot.” She handed her phone to Siyeon, who instantly smiled at it.

“You look very cute.” Siyeon took a closer look at the photo. “You and your sister don’t really look alike…”

“Well, yeah, we’re adopted.” Handong said nonchalantly. “We grew up together our entire lives.” She chuckled and turned her head to Bora, who was taking another customer’s order. “She’s my sister too, actually.”

Siyeon smiled, nodding and handing her phone back, “Is it fun working with your sister?”

“It’s only been a few nights. It’s nice; We don’t get to spend a lot of time together anymore.” She shrugged, smiling warmly. Despite her persistence, Bora was fun to work with. “That’s one thing I hate about being older.”

“We just all become too busy… What’s it like having sisters?”

“Fun, I guess?” she looked at her sister cracking jokes with the cooks through the window. “Being close in age, we mostly annoyed and messed with each other. It looked like we hated each other, but it was very much the opposite… Well, mostly she, Bora, and our baby sister, Yoohyeon, fight each other. I really like watching it happen.”

That comment made the blue-haired woman laugh.

Handong continued with a smile, “For Yoohyeon and I, we grew up together. It took awhile for us to get adopted together, since we were so close. I remember how happy we were when our mom adopted both of us.”

“That sounds really fun… I was adopted by my family too. I asked because I only have brothers. I don’t like talking about it, though.”

There was that tone again—smaller, distant, and fading away.

“I didn’t mean to make you recall anything—”

“It’s not that,” Siyeon shook her head. “I promise, another time.” She looked down at their now empty containers, chuckling, “I guess I should go now.”

“I guess you should. Tonight is on me, remember?”

“I remember.” Siyeon stood up and Handong followed. “Then, can I get your number in exchange?”

It was done so boldly, Handong felt flustered on the inside. She stood still, blinking at the wonderful woman before her, as if she had become the only thing in the world.

Siyeon spoke again, “I loved our time here tonight.”

She was really grabbing for Handong’s affections now. And she was winning. The blonde was supposed to play hard to get, but tonight was lovely.

In the time she was thinking, Siyeon had gotten closer. Not close enough to accidentally touch, but just enough that it was comfortable and showed more trust.

Handong reached into her pocket for her notepad and pen, writing her phone number down and handing it to her, “Let me know when you get home, okay?”

“I will. Have a nice rest of your night, Handong.”

“You too, Siyeon.”

She watched her leave and felt Bora latch onto her back, giggling as if she was the one who was with Siyeon.

Handong felt something as she tucked her hand into her jacket pocket. When she reached in and pulled it out, she scoffed, realizing it was yet another twenty-dollar bill.

Lee Siyeon. She was something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so what did yall think?? pls let me know with a comment!  
> see yall on saturday uwu


	4. Chapter 4

For the next two weeks, Handong found herself texting Siyeon often, letting her know when she was home and when she’ll be at work. For the first week, despite telling Siyeon she didn’t have to come by so often and wasting petrol, she still came anyway. She was also still sneaking money somewhere into Handong’s possession, no matter how attentive the blonde was to her surroundings. It was frustrating and she couldn’t give it back. She wanted to pay her back eventually.

Siyeon would randomly throw out how she wanted to take her to different restaurants or even go on long walks together, expressing that they needed a different setting of being together. She might has well just ask her out directly! Handong gave her ambiguous answers, not accepting or declining. Bora was keeping up with their blossoming relationship, intrigued and hadn’t needed to help since the third night.

By the second week, however, Handong was back to her daytime shift, thus Siyeon didn’t show up anymore, Bora was yelling about it through text (and at home if Yoohyeon didn’t visit) instead, and Yoohyeon’s tab was increasing again.

“Dongdong!”

“Back from seeing Minji, I’m guessing.” Handong approached her sister, who was bouncing on her booth seat from how happy she was.

“Yup! You know what that means.”

“Of course,” she sighed. “One of these days, Yoo, I’m going to tell Minji about this tab.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

All Handong did was smirk and Yoohyeon’s expression changed to one of horror and fear, as if letting her crush know of her debt to the diner was her worst nightmare. (Judging by that expression, maybe it really was.) Doing the usual routine, she wrote Yoohyeon’s name on a ticket and left it at the window. She went on to checking in with her tables, cleaning up any messes left behind, and organizing any napkin holders and condiments that were misplaced. It was almost her lunch break, so at least then she could sit down with Yoohyeon and let her talk about her purple-haired love interest for thirty minutes without needing a break to breathe.

She was still hiding her own crush from her. She didn’t know when the right time was to say something. She didn’t know if her feelings were strong enough or deep enough in romantic territory to even mention she’d been seeing someone. At least she was in that territory for sure. It was still mostly Siyeon taking direct action with flirtatious sweet nothings and looking at her with fondness and warmth, smiling with adoration. She hadn’t tried to hold her hand or even sit next to her. Handong was always the one waiting for the physical affection, much like how Bora and Yoohyeon always hugged her first.

Handong finished her final cleaning task and took her break, sitting down with Yoohyeon as she scarfed her burger down.

“Update me on Minji, Yoo.”

“Yes!” Yoohyeon put her half-eaten burger in the little basket, grabbing a fry, “We had a date last night! I went to see Minji’s house! She lives by herself, but she said she wants to adopt a dog eventually! We made cupcakes together! She taught me how to make vanilla ones! She looked so cute being so focused and wearing a big t-shirt! They were really good! Oh, my god, I nearly died when I got some frosting on my lip and she cleaned it with her thumb...” She was blushing now, practically a tomato from how red she was. “I want to ask her to be my girlfriend, but I don’t know how!”

She checked her phone as Yoohyeon was busy pulling herself together again, feeling excitement as she saw the blue notification light blinking, indicating it was a text message.

 **Siyeon:  
** [When do you have a day off?]

Handong stopped her smile, replying with [I have Sunday off this week].

 **Siyeon:  
** [How about we spend it together?]

She bit her lip as she typed [Are you asking me on a date?].

 **Siyeon:  
** [Would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?]

As Handong was about to reply, Yoohyeon snatched her phone out of her hands, startling her out of her little world.

“Who are you texting?!”

The blonde grabbed it back, then reached to flick her forehead. “Don’t do that again. It’s none of your business.”

Her sister was rubbing her forehead, whining and pouting, “I was talking to you but you weren’t listening! You were smiling at your phone, who is it?!”

Handong just hummed as she looked at her screen again, replying with [What do you plan on doing?].

There was a minute of silence between them before Yoohyeon gasped, “Have you found someone?!”

Handong sighed. It wasn’t like she had a choice anymore. “Yes, I’ve been seeing someone—”

“What?! You’ve been dating somebody and you didn't tell me?! Dongdong!”

“I’ve just been seeing her! She makes it obvious she likes me, she flirts a lot, but we aren’t dating.”

“Who is she?! Do you have a picture?! What’s she like?! I need to know if she’s good for you!”

Handong knew this would happen. On top of that, she was going to be pissed that Bora knew this and didn’t tell her. Good to know she really didn’t break her promise. “Her name’s Siyeon. She doesn’t live around here, but she came by nearly every night and we ate late dinners together. She paid for it every single time and it’s making me mad, honestly.”

She swiped away the text so Yoohyeon couldn’t secretly read it. She chose one of the selfies Siyeon had sent before, one of her just wearing white, smiling and was just a normal picture. She sent a few of her being sexy (which, Handong couldn’t lie, she was), but her little sister didn’t need to know of those.

She handed her phone over to her. “She’s very pre—”

“She’s insanely hot!” Yoohyeon yelled, loudly and heard by everyone there, making Handong take her phone back. “Dongdong, you have to lock her down! She has to have hundreds of people at her feet wanting her too.”

“Maybe, but she’s made it bluntly clear that I’m the only one she’s interested in. She said a few times that I was the only woman she’s been attracted to, which I don’t believe. So, people could try all they want, but I’m the one she wants.”

“I like her already! I approve, now go ask her out!”

“Siyeon was trying to ask me on a date before you rudely took my phone.” Handong checked the text she got. She heard Yoohyeon squeal in excitement as she looked down.

 **Siyeon:  
** [I only have time in the evening, because I need to drive. I have the perfect idea.]

With her sisters being so happy for her to be involved with someone, she couldn’t consider saying no. Not like she ever considered it in the first place—She was planning on saying yes regardless.

It was a strange experience. Handong and Yoohyeon spent the majority of their lives not being in romantic relationships, because Handong wasn’t truly ever interested and Yoohyeon was a mess when it came to romance. Now, here they both were, crushing hard and those women were reciprocating their feelings. They were so close to having girlfriends.

She typed, [Ask me in person then].

“I promise to tell you later if I’m going on a date or not.”

“I can’t wait!” She was still bouncing in her seat. “I’m so happy, Dongdong, we both have girls who like us!”

The blonde looked down at the photo ID she set for Siyeon, smiling at it. “I’m happy too, Yoohyeon.”

* * *

Handong was finishing cleaning the bar table when she heard the door’s bell ring. She didn’t think much of it, there was another coworker with her who could serve whoever it was. She stopped when she heard the sound of heavy breathing was approaching, ending with clearing their throat to get her attention.

She spun around and made eye contact with the blue-haired beauty, more so the color teal now, still as stunning as ever. Finally seeing her in a daytime setting, she could see her features clearly, like how her brown eyes sparkled more and how her fair skin was phenomenally perfect. Somehow, the light made her harmless and not as intimidating as nighttime did. In fact, she was cute looking.

However, she was visibly exhausted and her forehead and temples had a slight shininess in perspiration. Handong couldn't hold back her laugh as she set her cloth and spray bottle down, grabbing a couple napkins and taking a step forward, patting her forehead for her. Siyeon froze and let her do so, a smile growing on her face.

"Did you run all the way from your city?"

Siyeon chuckled, her eyes avoiding Handong's and her cheeks were dusted pink, "I was shocked the parking lot was full, so I had to go around again and park far."

"That doesn't mean you had to run!"

"I really wanted to see you!"

For such a busy diner, parking was lacking in available spaces. The town was a lot smaller when it first opened, thus they only needed minimal spaces. She wondered how far she had to park, but, after seeing her, clearly it was _too_ far. Handong smiled and stopped her task, folding the napkins and placing them in her apron pocket, planning to throw them away after their conversation, “I'm impressed, though; You actually showed yourself.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Siyeon smiled back, mirroring the blonde’s. “Kim Handong, will you go out with me on Sunday?”

Handong hummed, still teasing and keeping her on her toes. She could see Siyeon was restless, a slight jitter in her body language, hoping and wanting her to say yes. She was finding enjoyment in seeing her like this; So nervous despite their feelings definitely being on the same wavelength. She was confident, even overconfident at times, but Handong had her rethinking and wondering. She found the trait a little cute.

“I don’t want to force you, but,” Siyeon then reached over, her hands running down Handong’s forearms before holding her hands, gentle and warm, “I really like you and I want to spend time with you outside of this place.”

She felt goosebumps grow on her skin where her hands touched. They were unbelievably soft as she held hers in return. There was an electric current going through them, unable to disconnect, silence between them but words weren’t needed. Handong had never felt this before, this connection, sending warmth to her cheeks and a buzz through her muscles. A smile threatened to show on her face, the corners of her lips were twitching. It probably looked strange that a waitress, who was supposed to be working, was having a moment with a blue-haired punk girl.

“Okay,” Handong allowed a small grin to show, making Siyeon smile back, “I’ll go on a date with you on Sunday, Lee Siyeon. You said you could only do evening, so does seven p.m. sound good to you?”

“Perfect. I can’t wait. Text me your address, okay? I’ll pick you up.”

“I will.” Handong nodded. “Now, be on your way. I’m still on work hours.”

Siyeon left with a smile, leaving Handong to let a slight panic set in her mind.

She was about to go on her first date ever. She didn’t know how to dress, except to stay warm since the weather was still cold. She didn’t want to underdress, but she didn’t want to overdress either. She was about to go on a date with the most wonderful and beautiful woman she’d ever met. 

She needed help with this.


	5. Chapter 5

This date was so important for not only Handong, but for Bora and Yoohyeon too. On Sunday afternoon, Handong told Yoohyeon that she, indeed, had a date with Siyeon for the evening. She hadn’t texted her blue-haired pursuer all day; She knew nothing about this date. The younger rushed over from her campus dorm, her overstuffed backpack in hand for her overnight stay, and was overly excited to help her big sister with her very first date.

And, because she was also just as involved, she waited until Bora woke up from sleeping, which was a little after texting Yoohyeon. The moment Handong uttered ‘date’, the woman shot up from bed, grabbed her phone, dramatically fake-cough and said she was sick, and then hung up.

“I can’t wait!” Bora beamed at Yoohyeon, sitting at the dining table eating the hotteok and bulgogi Handong prepared for the two of them.

“I can’t believe you hid this from us, Dongdong!”

Bora’s smile grew into a near-sinister look, scoffing, “Us?! I saw the whole thing from the beginning!”

Yoohyeon gasped, an offended expression covering her face, “You hid this from me?!”

The fact that Yoohyeon didn't catch on that Handong and Bora going to work together meant that Bora already knew of it was quite... _alarming_ , to say the least.

“Dongie told me to!”

“Dongdong!” Their baby sister turned to the blonde standing by the sink as she put her mug away.

“I wasn’t ready yet!” Handong cried back, mocking what Yoohyeon said when she first spoke to Minji.

Bora laughed and repeatedly slapped Yoohyeon’s shoulder, “Don’t be mad, Yoo!”

“But I want to know things right away!”

“Dongie isn’t used to these feelings! She can’t just jump into telling these things! Not like you—”

“Hey!”

Handong’s head kept going from side to side as her sisters were trying to talk over each other. She usually found their banter pretty funny, but this time it was jarring.

“Okay, guys, you have to help me—”

This stopped the two right away. It was scary sometimes how quick their fights start and stop. Bora looked about ready to wrap her hands around Yoohyeon’s neck before she spoke up.

“Right!” Yoohyeon stood up from her chair and grabbed the blonde, dragging her to her room, and began digging through her closet. “We just need something that’s you, Dongdong!”

“Ooh!” Bora spun to Handong, like a lightbulb lit up over her head. “You should wear something a little thin! That way, she could put her leather jacket on you and it’s going to be so romantic!”

“Good idea!” Yoohyeon started frantically digging through her closet. “Dongdong, start showering, we’ll have outfits by the time you’re done!”

* * *

All of a sudden, Handong became a doll for them to dress and put makeup on. She was lucky they cared about her opinion because, so far, they hadn’t chosen one that she felt comfortable to wear. She was still wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, judging their outfit combinations and going nowhere with their choices. They _really_ wanted Handong to look her best.

They eventually found something perfect for Handong, even she was squealing at the sight of it. She had to admire herself in her big beige turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, and black boots. Simple, but it was her style and it was going to keep her warm for the majority of the night. Bora helped with her hair and makeup, giving her a natural look and a slight pink to her cheeks, making her irresistibly pretty. She finished off with one of Handong’s perfumes, the one she thought smelled the nicest yet not overpowering. (Though, Handong had a feeling she chose it because it was her most expensive one.) She was growing more nervous as time went on, the time getting closer and closer to seven o’clock. She could only hope that Siyeon put in as much effort as she did. With how much she liked her, though, no doubt she was trying just as hard.

“You’re ready!” Bora looked at her through the mirror, her hands on the blonde’s shoulders. “There’s no way Siyeon is not going to ask you to be her girlfriend! No way!”

“Maybe…” She was already nervous enough. Now, she was even more nervous at the thought of Siyeon dropping that bomb at the end of the date. Bora grabbed her hand and took her to the living room, where Yoohyeon was doting on Nannan, carrying him like a newborn baby.

She gasped, her eyes nearly popping out of her head and her jaw on the floor, “Wow! Siyeon’s going to fall in love with you!”

“She hasn’t seen me out of uniform yet, so it’ll be interesting on her part. I don’t know about falling in love, though.”

“I think so too,” Bora dusted and picked at Handong’s sweater for dust and stray fluff, “but only because I think she’s already in love.”

“You guys…”

They both shrugged their shoulders. Yoohyeon loosened her hands and let Nannan drop to the floor, then grabbing her sister in her hug. “We’re just excited that you found someone, Dongdong. I’m grateful that you love and take care of us, and we love and take care of you too! But you deserve someone who’ll love you and make you so happy! Someone who’ll take you on dates, give you gifts big and small, send you random pictures and memes at 3 am to make you laugh—from what it looks like, Siyeon’s that person. And…” Yoohyeon sighed, pulling away and squeezing her arms. She gave a quick look at Bora, who, with an empathetic look on her face, nodded in approval. “We know you’re having a hard time with what happened… even now. Please, please, please, don’t believe for a second that you don’t deserve this.”

The corners of Handong’s lips lifted and she hugged her sisters once more. They never really talked about it; There wasn’t much to say. It really was time for her to move on to another part of her life, the next part of finding happiness, and, subconsciously, she was holding back in getting there. Whether from an external source or just herself, she couldn’t pinpoint it.

There was a knock on the door, breaking the atmosphere.

“Speaking of that person,” Bora had a knowing smile on her face.

Handong smiled again, slid out of their arms, and opened the door, meeting eyes with her date for the night. Dressed in a leather jacket, a gray t-shirt, jeans, and Dr. Martens, Siyeon stood at her doorstep with a shy smile on her red lipstick lips.

“Hi Siyeon.” Handong greeted first, smiling back, still holding onto the door.

“Hello to you too.” Siyeon looked her up and down, slow as she made eye contact again. There was a glint in her eye, her smile growing big. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She was unable to contain her smile anymore. She was becoming warm with the feelings she was having from looking at her date. She couldn’t deny them anymore, not when they were so obviously mutual.

Bora cleared her throat, loudly, behind the blonde. She and Yoohyeon stood almost directly behind her, smiling at Siyeon, who was looking back at them with a confused, still-smiling expression.

“Oh, Siyeon, these are my sisters, Bora and Yoohyeon. You guys, this is Siyeon.”

The two got closer, gawking at the beautiful woman in front of them. Siyeon’s eyes averted a few times, obviously awkward and unsure on what to do.

There was a long silence before Bora blurted, “You’re a lot hotter up close.”

This took Siyeon aback and Handong glared at the two, regretting introducing them.

Siyeon cleared her throat, chuckling, “Nice to meet you. I recognize you from the diner. That was—”

Yoohyeon pushed the shorter woman aside before Siyeon could finish her sentence, holding her hand out, “Nice to meet you. Handong’s told me a lot about you.”

Siyeon smiled again, shaking hers politely, “Nice to meet you too. I was told a little bit about you. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to bring your sister home safely before midnight.”

“Just bring her home safely.” Yoohyeon smiled bigger, putting her arm around Handong’s shoulders. “This is her first date ever, so make sure she has a good time. If you don’t or get her hurt somehow… I’ll be sure no one can find your body.”

“Siyeon!” Handong raised her voice slightly, slipping out of Yoohyeon’s hug. “Should we get going? We can’t waste time if you want me back here before midnight.”

“Yeah, of course, we better get going!”

“We’ll keep the house safe, Dongdong!” Yoohyeon waved the couple goodbye.

“Have fun, Dongie!” Bora gave the gray-haired girl a slight shove and waved with her. Walking further away, Handong barely caught Bora saying, “Yoo, tell me all about Minji! I haven’t spoken to you enough about her—”

Handong smiled overhearing that. Bora was so invested in their love lives, wanting to hear and see how they were doing, wondering if they were happy or not. Deep down, her older sister instincts were kicked in and her protective side was on high alert. She could definitely see her getting mad at Siyeon if her heart was ever broken by her.

Focusing back on her date, she was smiling and laughing, light as air, looking beautiful in the evening sunset, minutes away from becoming the night sky. They arrived to Siyeon’s two-door car, black and sleek, and looked to be newly washed and cleaned.

Siyeon opened the door for Handong first and let her in, then ran around to the driver’s side. The car had comfortable black polyester seats and it smelled lemon-scented inside. It was fancy, seeing it was a push-to-start and had a touchscreen radio.

Handong wondered if her job paid rather well to afford a car like this. She remembered her surprise when she said her day job was being a high school choir teacher. Obviously, the way she dressed, her hair, and how she acted wasn’t typical for a teacher. What wasn’t surprising to hear was she was considered the coolest teacher in school by both her own students and not. (That was a real thing the students voted for in the yearbook.) Siyeon stated that singing was an outlet for her creativity and it made her happy whenever she sang. The blonde couldn’t say it aloud, but she found that sadly relatable.

“I’m sorry about my sisters, Siyeon.” Handong said as her date got in her seat.

“No worries, Dongdong.” She teased, making the blonde blush and pout. “I like them; they’re really funny.”

“I’m especially sorry for Bora. She’s always straightforward like that.”

“I think she’s pretty too,” Siyeon started the car, hearing it purr on as the screens lit blue, “but she’s not you.”

“Everyone always liked her and thought she was the prettiest.” Handong recalled back to school, when Bora was hounded and always given cards and teddy bears to win her heart. Valentine’s Day was a nightmare for her. “Knowing someone popular, especially that someone being related to you, was weird. Everyone wanted to be around her, be her friend, and date her.”

“What about you?”

“I just… kept to myself. I was in choir and drama. Just a theatre kid who liked to sing.”

The blonde was recalling back to her day, more like her _years_ , of declaring her plan to leave town to be a singer. That bittersweet feeling may never go away.

“I want to hear you sing.”

“I haven’t done it in forever.” Handong scoffed at the idea. “I’m sure I’m rusty at this point. I might even sound tone deaf from how long it’s been.”

Siyeon hummed, stopping at a red light, “I’m sure you still sound amazing.”

“Maybe if I hear you sing first.”

“Done—”

“Only maybe,” Handong emphasized.

Handong turned her head and saw the blue-haired woman smiling at her, the same look of interest and admiration she had every time they made eye contact. She wondered what the date entailed, but she wanted to surprise herself too. No matter what it was, she was certain that Siyeon planned something good. She was her first real crush and she felt lucky that she captured her attention, even in no makeup and her hair was a mess from being so tired.

She cringed outwardly, making Siyeon laugh at the sudden change in emotion.

“Sorry, I just… remember that when we met, I wasn’t wearing any makeup and I didn’t do my hair. It was my first night shift and I looked terrible.”

“You looked very cute.” Siyeon complimented, smiling bigger.

“You’re just saying that… And then I tried to do my makeup and hair for three nights and you didn’t show up, so then I went makeup-free again, only for you to come!”

“You were waiting for me to come back?”

Handong felt her cheeks burn from unintentionally admitting that she wanted to see her more. She didn’t mean to; she felt a little mad still. A moment of pause filled the car before Handong muttered, “Maybe…”

“You’re so cute, Dongie.” Siyeon teased again with the other nickname. The blonde just crossed her arms, embarrassed from her slip-up. Siyeon laughed, saying, “I should’ve come back sooner. I didn’t want to weird you out for coming back the next night.”

Handong just hummed in reply. With one last low chuckle, Siyeon turned the radio on, an upbeat pop song playing to fill the air. Handong said, “I would’ve thought it was weird, but I would’ve been happy too.”

A couple of minutes passed, the radio playing a new song, and in her peripheral vision, she could see Siyeon’s hand hesitating to reach over. Handong turned her head slightly, seeing Siyeon was still focusing on the road, but her hand was resting on the gear shift. Handong watched her hand move over to her, only to then ball up into a fist and grab the gear shift again.

She was confused as to what she was doing at first. Handong had her hands resting on her lap, just where Siyeon’s hand was trying to go. It was clear then that Siyeon wanted to hold her hand, but was unsure and afraid to do so. Handong smiled at the woman, watching her hand now fumbling on the gear shift, acting as if she just wanted to hold it. It was an automatic car; She didn’t need to do that.

She waited until Siyeon got a little braver, reaching further than halfway. Not wanting to tease her anymore, Handong lifted her hand for them to meet. They interlocked their fingers and the blonde rested their hands on her lap. Feeling her warmth and touching the softness of her skin, she felt more at ease.

Handong didn’t have to look to know that Siyeon was smiling like a goofball. She was smiling too, sighing dreamily as their gentle yet firm grips were warming each other, filling her with an emotion she couldn’t exactly name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> date chapter next week! see you on saturday!


	6. Chapter 6

Handong never left the town before. Not even for holidays or to visit cool sites. The town was all she saw and she had to live through the television screen and her phone to see different things and places. It was sad to think about.

But now, she was filled with excitement, finally able to experience a different atmosphere. Siyeon mentioned that the city she lived in was too far, so they were going to a halfway point where there was a beautiful little town in between, where it never slept, fairy lights decorate the streets and, somehow, the smell of faint vanilla sweetness was always in the air. Handong was flattered, but she still didn’t like that Siyeon spent so much time going to and from her home just to go see her at the diner. And now, she was driving more for their date. She didn’t vocalize it, knowing the blue-haired woman would just throw a pick-up line out to throw her off guard.

She attempted to let go of her hand so she could drive with both, but Siyeon would squeeze, letting her know that she won’t let go. Handong never had to drive, there was no point, so she assumed she’d need both of her hands eventually.

False. Siyeon held her hand all the way to a little cozy coffee shop in the little town, where warm, yellow-orange light poured out the windows, revealing it was bustling inside, people at nearly every table, either drinking, eating, reading, or even sleeping, all while dressed warmly for the cold night. It was an enchanting place, a little safe haven on Earth, and Handong felt relaxed at just the sight of it.

“Ready, Handong?” Siyeon parked the car and turned it off, looking almost like an angel in the streetlight glowing against her face.

“Yes, I’m ready.” They both got out of the car and, as fast as she could, Siyeon put her arm around Handong to keep her warm. It was a lot colder than the blonde anticipated, but that was because the car was warm and she just jumped out.

They sped through the night, crossing the street, and Siyeon grabbed the door, letting Handong go in first. The comfortable temperature inside was perfect, easing her body and relaxing her muscles, a content little smile on her lips. There was a line, so Siyeon and Handong stood together as they looked up at the menu. Siyeon grabbed her hand again, like she missed the feeling, and Handong held hers back.

“Two hot chocolate?” Siyeon asked, turning her head to look at the blonde, who was still distracted with the many options the cafe offered.

A few seconds passed before Handong turned towards her, her eyebrows raised, “Oh, um, that would be good. I tend to sneeze when I eat chocolate, but I still eat it anyway.”

Siyeon chuckled, “Cute. Your choice, though. It’s me paying for everything, so pick as many as you like.”

The blonde pouted, but didn’t fight. Wanting to see more of the menu, she leaned towards Siyeon, grabbing her arm with her free hand. Her arm was pushing against Handong’s body, and Siyeon’s eyes could barely look away.

“London fog sounds good.” The blonde leaned back again, giving the blue-haired woman an innocent smile. “Which muffin sounds better: honey or banana?”

“We could get both.” She was still in a slight daze.

Handong hummed, still oblivious as to why Siyeon was acting the way she was, “Let’s go with banana.”

Siyeon shook her head, out of her hypnosis, and ordered the hot drinks and two banana muffins, paid with her card, all done with her hand still interlocked with Handong’s. They were told to find a seat and someone will bring their order to them. They found a free table and Siyeon let go of her hand to sit down. Handong, wanting to misdirect her expectation, sat next to her instead on the booth, rather than across from her on the metal chair.

“Do you like it so far?” Siyeon asked, smiling at the blonde.

“This is a beautiful place. I love it.” Handong smiled back, her eyes roaming around the wooden interior, gentle jazz music playing through the air. “Thank you for taking me here.”

“No problem. It’s better than the diner, right?”

“Absolutely.”

* * *

One of the workers brought their food and drinks, finally letting go of each other’s hands to try them. Handong held her mug carefully, blowing gentle air to cool the light brown drink down before taking a sip. It didn’t burn her tongue, tasting the sweetness and earthiness, warming and relaxing her body.

“Is it good?” Siyeon asked, putting her muffin down.

“Yes, do you like your hot chocolate?” Handong held her mug with both hands, smiling at the woman who had little crumbs on her lips. She giggled and grabbed a napkin, beginning to clean her lips and some of her lipstick off. She didn’t let her answer first, dusting off the crumbs from her lips and the corners of her mouth. It was like they were the only people left on Earth, so focused on each other that the music and strangers around them seemed to vanish.

When Handong finished, Siyeon replied, “It’s very good.”

“Good.” She nodded, grabbing her own muffin to take a bite. After swallowing, she said, “I want to know more about you, Siyeon.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything. Whatever you’d like to tell me; I’ll listen.” Handong scooted closer, taking a sip of her drink again.

Cautiously, Siyeon put her arm around Handong’s shoulders, saying, “Well, I knew of this place because I lived in this town for a moment. Much like I lived in yours, I didn’t live here long either. But, this is definitely one of my favorites. I’ve lived in too many places to remember some of them. I, uh…” She clenched her jaw, turning away for a second before looking again, “One reason I moved a lot was because my mom was in the military.”

Handong lowered her drink, giving her date more attention.

“So, when she had to leave for a new base or station, we followed. I didn’t just stay in this state, I’ve lived in lots of states. Countries, too. I think the place I stayed the longest was in South Korea, but I was just a kid then.”

Siyeon paused, as if she was waiting for a response. The blonde was just listening, sipping her drink, not showing curiosity regarding that fact.

She smiled, “You’re the first one that didn’t sidetrack to ask about what it was like living there.”

“Are there any interesting things you’d like to say about living there?”

“No,” she chuckled, continuing, “The second reason was because my brothers, all three of them, got in trouble. A lot. They could barely stay in the same school. I just wanted to graduate, but we had to keep moving around. They kept getting expelled.”

“All of them?” Handong’s eyes widened, setting her mug down.

“One, two, maybe all three of them if they were extra annoying and weird. How ever many they were, I was just dragged along. And they always tried to blame crap on me! Because I was the only one who wasn’t related to anyone in the family, they thought they could turn me into some scapegoat for them to do whatever they wanted! Luckily, my dad was always on my side.” Siyeon sipped her drink. “They understood how much more it costs when we have to move while my mom was deployed! My parents are good people. It’s weird to think they conceived those fools.”

“How come they just adopted you?”

“They only had boys. I think I remember my dad saying they would try again, but after three, they couldn’t take their chances. That’s why I asked you about your sisters. It seems more fun having them instead…” She continued, “Anyway, I was dragged along, no matter how much I liked a school, I had to go with them. My brothers did admit they were upset that mom was always away, so they were just always mad and getting in trouble. I wouldn’t say our relationship is great; I’ll always think they’re idiots. But I still love them.” She took a bite of her muffin, cleaning the crumbs off her mouth. “As for my parents, thankfully my mom was honorably discharged and is now home with my dad. I try to call and visit them when I can.”

The blonde smiled, adoring the blue-haired punk. Despite her tough-looking exterior, she was a lovable, kind person. Despite all the moving, dealing with bothersome brothers, and missing her mom, she was still this loving, funny, and caring Siyeon.

If Handong never took that night shift, she’d be home, with her little sister and Nannan, listening to her whine about her still being single. On top of that, her big sister would be asking her those questions about loneliness again, probably (aka definitely) worrying about her.

Siyeon continued, “But enough about me! What about you? Anything you could say about living in one place your whole life?”

Handong chuckled, grabbing her mug again, “Not really. I see the same faces, speak to the same people… I know that town like the back of my hand. It’s always been me, Bora, Yoohyeon, and our mom. She wasn’t strict on us or anything. We were happy and she made sure we stayed that way. She accepted us for any weird or outlandish interests we ended up liking. Even when she clearly didn’t understand, she still listened. She encouraged us to always be ourselves. We were blessed with her as our mom… She accepted us as us.” The blonde’s smile was sad, reminiscing as she drank her tea. “She was the best mom I could ever ask for.”

Siyeon had a knowing, crushed look on her face. She looked like she had caught on to what Handong was implying.

She redirected the subject, not wanting to dig deeper into it, “I’ve been living with Bora for quite some time. I cannot tell you how whiny Yoohyeon was about this whole girlfriend thing.”

“First date ever, huh?”

“That wasn’t a lie. I never focused on this relationship thing before. But, I’m an adult now, I’ve only ever worked… I have time to focus on that now.”

“This won’t be a bad date, I promise.”

* * *

They finished their mini dinner and Siyeon drove again, holding Handong’s hand again to their next destination.

That conversation meant something to Handong—to hear how different their experiences were in regards to adoption. She didn’t know other people who were adopted into their families, so to hear Siyeon’s experiences, it piqued her interest and made her want to listen to every word. To hear what it was like to have brothers was also interesting, though it sounded to be not very pleasant.

She didn’t want to be too direct in regards to her own mom. She didn’t want to mention it so casually. Her mom would’ve been happy to hear Handong had finally found someone she really liked. She would’ve been skeptical of her, since her fashion made her look ‘up to no good’ (that was something her mom would really say), but Handong was sure she would’ve adored her in the end.

Siyeon’s next destination was a pier. There seemed to be a festival or fair happening in the distance on it, where bright, colorful lights from the park rides (especially from the Ferris wheel) were shimmering, and the faint music of the band playing could be heard. All the while she could hear the crashing waves and the smell of salt water in the air. She had never been to the beach before and it was so nice and cozy to experience during the night.

However, with beautiful beach scenery came with freezing temperatures. Handong was shivering non-stop as she held onto Siyeon’s arm, clenching her jaw to stop it from chattering.

Siyeon chuckled, “A little cold there, Handong?”

“N—No.”

Siyeon slipped her arm out of the cold girl’s hold and took her jacket off, revealing she was only wearing a regular long sleeve t-shirt under.

“Siyeon! No, keep it, you’ll freeze!” Handong pushed the leather jacket away but Siyeon persisted, putting it around the blonde’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t want you shivering around. I’ll be fine.”

Handong wore the jacket, fitting perfectly and warmed her up. Siyeon hooked her arm around Handong’s body, pulling her close as they walked on the pier’s wooden floor. Siyeon was obviously shivering and goosebumps covered every part of her visible skin, but Handong couldn’t protest her stubbornness.

As if it was perfect timing, the live band at the end of the pier began playing a slow song and the crowd found their partners to start their dance.

Siyeon had a lovey-dovey smile on her face as she held her hand out, “May I have this dance, Kim Handong?”

“Yes, you may, Lee Siyeon.”

They got into position, Siyeon’s hand on the blonde’s hip and Handong’s on her shoulder, and swayed to the music, slow and focusing on each other. Siyeon was so obvious in staring at Handong’s lips, but she ignored it, just smiling innocently.

“You sure are something else, Siyeon.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes. I… I admitted to Bora that… maybe if she had gone to serve you instead of me that night… things would be different. Do you know what I mean?”

“Of course. I’m sure if you weren’t there, that one time would’ve been the only time.”

“Or, maybe you would still be here… with Bora instead.”

“What? Why would I be here with her?”

“I don’t know, she’s super pretty too. Maybe you would’ve… fallen for her instead?”

“You’re so silly, Handong. Sure, she's pretty, but she’s not you. I promise you, that would’ve been the only one.”

Handong nodded and switched her hand position, wrapping her arms around Siyeon’s neck. The blue-haired woman held her waist, taking in her body’s warmth and her sweet scent.

“I have to admit something to you…” Siyeon pulled back a little. Their faces were so close, there was tension setting in between them. “I…” She chuckled, taking quick glances around her. “I remember that town the most. Your town.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Yeah,” her hands tightened for a second before loosening again, “I was there for a month in high school.”

Handong’s eyes widened. She would’ve remembered her if it was just high school. That wasn’t too long ago.

“I was sad that you didn’t remember me. But, maybe that was a good thing.” Siyeon shut her eyes then opened them again. “I used to stop you during lunch and passing periods…”

Handong gripped Siyeon’s shirt. The memories of freshman year and the ‘bad girl’ sophomore that would come by and try to flirt with her were becoming clearer. The blonde played hard to get and didn’t take her too seriously, thus the memory of her just faded away. Handong felt foolish, forgetting someone like Siyeon like that.

“I liked you a lot. It was so embarrassing.” Siyeon shook her head. “I was so awkward and you didn’t really care, but I still tried. You’d think I’d be too hurt and move on… I still thought about you. I wondered how you were doing. I wasn’t expecting to see you in that diner, I promise. I was just visiting… I can’t tell you how happy I was to see you there. Still in that town.” Siyeon had a sad smile. “I look and act so different from that awkward teenager. I was scared that you would treat me the same way, but you didn’t. Teenage-me would be freaking out right now.”

Handong did a small laugh, barely audible. “Siyeon, I’m… I’m so sorry I forgot about you. My teenage self had other plans…”

“You wanted to fly out and become a singer, right?”

“Yeah…” Handong sighed heavily, breaking their eye contact.

“What made you stay?”

“Um… My mom was actually rather elderly already when she adopted us. She would’ve been considered more of a grandmother. She used to just come by and help at our foster home, but she fell in love with us and wanted us as her daughters. I was really set on leaving by graduation, but… she got sick.” Handong cleared her throat as she felt it become tighter. “So, I stayed a little bit to help her. I was able to move in with Bora and she was able to see me graduate, giving me housewarming gifts and those plants you saw outside… I was only set on a little bit, leaving my stuff and sending money to help them stay afloat when I go… Our mom became really sick, bedridden and weak, she could barely move anymore. It was so sudden. One morning, I got a call and she was gone. She passed away in her sleep.” She avoided her eyes as much as possible. “She was so happy that I stayed here, Siyeon. And… that’s… why I can’t leave. My mom wanted me home. I can’t bring myself to try to follow that dream again. Lots of people around me all believed I was going to stay and I wanted to prove them wrong, but… I can’t…”

“Handong,” Siyeon used her thumbs to wipe away the tears rolling down the blonde’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be.”

“I haven’t really talked about it. You know, it’s just been ‘Yes, my mom did pass away’. I miss her a lot. I wanted her to see me succeed, see me on TV, hear my music on the radio… Tell her I made it. Bora and Yoohyeon took it a lot easier and they’re managing this better… I… I’m sorry—” Handong choked, shutting her eyes and turning her head down. She was pulled closer to Siyeon, wetting her shirt with her overflowing tears, shaking in her arms, wondering how far down she shoved these feelings away.

It was silent between them, the music now stopped and Siyeon kept embracing her there, comforting her and soothing her with rubbing circles on her back.

“I’m s—sorry, S—Siyeon…” Handong pulled away, sniffling and her breath was still uneven. “Dates are supposed to b—be fun…”

“No need to apologize. I’m here for you, Handong. You didn’t ruin anything.” Siyeon helped her clean more tears, some of her makeup seemed to have streamed down. “It’s okay to mourn for as long as you need…”

“Can we… go home?”

“Of course.”

* * *

It was a silent drive. Siyeon never let Handong’s hand go, holding it for the entirety of their drive back. The blonde kept her eyes looking out the window, finding warmth in Siyeon’s jacket and her hand.

She missed her mom. She missed her every day.

She felt guilty for cutting their date short, feeling her sadness in its entirety, and wanted to apologize. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be better tomorrow, or the day after that, or even the day after that. She really was being as strong as she could during this time. Did she even spend any time at all to grieve? Honestly, she doesn’t remember.

Siyeon parked in front of Handong’s home and she walked her to her door, her arm around the blonde’s shoulders.

“I’m really sorry if I ruined our date…” Handong looked down at the ground as she turned to her.

“Not at all,” Siyeon grabbed her chin and lifted her head up to look at her, smiling warmly, “I had a great time with you. I really got to know you and vice versa. I’m proud of you for opening up about that.”

“Text me when you get home?” 

“Of course. If you want to talk some more, you’re free to call me whenever.”

“Thank you…” Handong felt hypnotized looking at her.

There was a deep gaze between them, their hearts beating in-sync, and feeling warmer in each other’s presence. Handong was clutching Siyeon’s shirt, not ready to let her leave yet.

Siyeon was slow as she leaned in. “Can I…?”

Handong gulped. She watched her face get closer, but her instinct made her pull away, leaning back. The time didn’t feel right, crying moments ago and still feeling bad about it, even when she said it was okay. Her breathing was heavy from the nervousness that overwhelmed her body instantly. She felt bad about doing that too, her body slacking, not wanting to disappoint her for not giving her the magical first date kiss.

Luckily, she got the hint. Siyeon smiled and grabbed the blonde’s hand instead, lifting it to her lips to kiss the back. She left a lipstick mark, making her cheeks pink and causing a dopey grin to grow on her face.

The blonde smiled back, a barely audible giggle leaving her lips. She instead pressed the lipstick mark to her cheek, making Siyeon even happier.

“You can keep this, okay?” Siyeon ran her hands down Handong’s arms, referring to her jacket. “As a thank you for this amazing night. Plus, it looks nicer on you.”

Handong playfully rolled her eyes, but she really liked it. “I’ll be sure to wear it a lot. Thank you, Siyeon.”

Siyeon smiled, giving her one last hug, “The pleasure was all mine, Handong.”

The blonde stayed outside to watch Siyeon drive away, waiting until she was out of sight before going in.

Upon entering, she was tackled by her sisters, simultaneously throwing out questions in impatient giddiness. She looked back and forth between them, seeing their mouths speak at an incredible speed. She couldn’t catch any words from how their voices overlapped.

“Guys, guys,” Handong waved her hands, making them quiet down, “it was a great date, okay? That’s all I want to say.”

Yoohyeon and Bora sat her down and went on to ask their questions, but the blonde made sure to keep her answers not very direct, wanting to keep at least some things to herself and Siyeon. They were restless, even freaking out at how Handong was wearing Siyeon’s jacket. Handong had to eventually turn them down, despite their excitement, and say she was tired and had work in the morning.

It gave her enough time to remove her makeup, change into her pajamas, and get ready for bed before she finally got a text from Siyeon.

**Siyeon:  
** [I’m home now, safe and sound.]  
[I had a great time tonight. I would love to take you on another date next weekend.]  
[Let me know in the morning.]  
[Goodnight, Handong. Sleep well.]

Handong bit her lower lip, unable to hold her smile back. She was fidgeting in bed, locked in her room to keep her sister and friend out, and was resting with Nannan.

However, she had a weird mix of emotions inside, floating and intermingling together in a mess of positive and negative.

Their talk at the pier made her realize that she still needed some time. She needed more time in order to grieve and remember her mother. She needed time to herself and let herself feel the sadness she bottled up for years. Still feeling the way that she did, she wasn’t sure if she could jump into a relationship just yet. She felt unprepared.

Making her wait, though, filled her with guilt.

She shook the feeling off, knowing she won’t be able to sleep if she dwelled on it a little longer.

Wanting to respond, she typed:

[I had a great time too. I’ll think about it. Goodnight, Siyeon.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see yall next saturday <3


	7. Chapter 7

Handong never responded to Siyeon’s question.

She never texted her back again. She never attempted to call her. When Siyeon did call a few times, she watched it go to voicemail.

This was the worst possible thing to do, especially to someone like Siyeon.

She really liked her. Handong wanted to tell her how she felt and knew she could tell her anything, but her nerves and feelings of dread were stronger. It looked like Handong had a revelation of ‘maybe I don’t actually want to date her’.

That thought was terrifying.

She wasn’t sure what to do. She felt relief when Siyeon’s daily calls stopped, but it sent her on an anxious spiral that her love interest gave up on her. She couldn’t blame her if she believed she did, disappointed that it ended like this.

Handong lied to her sisters that she was keeping contact, said Siyeon was busier, making her unable to see her. The lie stayed strong as Handong wore Siyeon’s jacket every day for warmth. It gave her comfort and made her feel safe, yet it also made her feel lost and disheartened.

But she knew Siyeon deserved a response.

An entire month passed when Handong was home alone one night. She locked herself in her room, lying in bed in the dark as her phone screen illuminated her face. She stared at Siyeon’s contact photo smiling back at her, her hands shaking as she hesitated to press the green phone icon.

She thought she was going to anger her. Siyeon still had a crush on her even after years of not seeing each other. Perhaps she was secretly impatient or expecting something of her right away. She was readying herself to hear resentment in her tone. Handong desperately wanted to be with Siyeon. But how could she when she was like _this_?

Handong forced all of her anxiety aside and pressed the button, shakily bringing her phone to her ear.

Her heart raced, pounding harder and harder against her ears. Chills ran through her skin. Her trembles were becoming uncontrollable. Pins and needles started pricking at her nerves. Thoughts of hearing Siyeon becoming hostile invaded her mind, harsh and blaring louder and louder.

The moment she heard the third ring, she pushed the red icon and threw it aside, nearly landing on the floor.

Holding her blanket closer to her, hot tears filled her eyes and a ton of weight pressed against her chest.

* * *

Two weeks and a hair color change later, Handong still hadn’t taken the first step. She was still preparing herself to even start the conversation. Siyeon tried to call back that night but Handong couldn’t bring herself to answer.

She forced herself into a dark, lonely corner, where it felt safe but was aware that she wasn’t doing the right thing.

She wanted to believe she was just preparing to begin the talk with her sisters. Slowly but surely, the line between ‘I’m preparing’ and ‘I’m stalling’ was blurring.

Every day started looking the same: wake up, go to work, see Yoohyeon, go home, see Bora, sleep, and repeat. Every day, Handong put Siyeon’s jacket on as a way to make her feel a sliver of comfort, despite not answering her calls. Every day, she was feeling worse, rather than better.

Every day, her sisters could see her deteriorating.

They had worried looks and asked her if she was okay. Handong would say she was tired, which was the truth. However, other than less sleep, she was also eating and speaking less. The weight on her body was unbearable, but she had to be normal for the sake of her job.

That didn’t last for much longer, either.

Another month passed and the brunette’s depressive mood bled into her work. She couldn’t focus, she would zone out as she was taking orders, her hands would shake as she placed down food or hand coffee—she was a hazard. She was reaching her breaking point when her boss was there watching over, and that was when she was put to a stop.

Handong fell apart right in front of her as she pulled her into her office. She didn’t want her boss to be the first one she admitted why she was feeling this way. She sniffled and choked as she explained how she was feeling, how long it was going on, apologizing over and over and that she’ll work harder. It all fell out of her mouth before she could even think.

Her boss took pity and sent her home, letting her know she’ll call in the morning as to what she’ll do in terms of paid leave and how long she could take off work.

She dragged her feet as she walked home. Handong didn’t want to go, knowing full well that Bora was home.

She didn’t have a choice. It was now or never.

Never couldn’t be an option, as much as she wanted it to be.

* * *

When she arrived home, Bora was in the kitchen.

Startled, Bora’s head turned to the door with a wide-eyed expression. She then laughed, relaxing for a moment, “Dongie! You scared me! Do you have a long lunch? Why are you—”

In an instant, Bora froze and watched as her sister approached her with red, puffy eyes and a distant look on her face as she stared at the floor.

“What’s wrong? Dongie, did something happen at work?” Bora pulled her into a hug, tight but loving. “What happened?”

Handong couldn’t speak, weakly placing her hands on Bora’s back as she hid her face in her neck, letting her tears finally leave without boundaries. She could hear Bora pleading and begging for an answer, asking what happened and what was wrong. Not a single word could come out.

With no answers, Bora took her to her bedroom. She helped the sobbing woman take her shoes and jacket off, lying her down in bed and tucking the blanket to her neck.

Bora swept away some strands of Handong’s brown hair out of her face, looking down at her with concern. Handong couldn’t stop sniffling and her breath was ragged, unable to meet her eyes.

“I’m going to call Yoohyeon, okay?” Bora cupped Handong’s cheek, wiping away a tear with her thumb.

* * *

Handong nearly fell asleep as her sisters came into her room. They sat on the edge, making the brunette sit up to face them. Her eyes looked from side to side as Yoohyeon and Bora looked back with worry.

She took deep breaths to stop her tears from filling her eyes again. She didn’t feel ready, especially to Yoohyeon. She happily spoke about Minji, who was finally her girlfriend after a week of preparing to ask. She was set on asking in a cute way, but after a baking mishap that ended with them on the floor covered in flour and egg yolk in their hair, she asked her then.

The brunette didn’t want to ruin that.

“Dongdong, what’s wrong?” Yoohyeon put her arm around her, comfortingly rubbing her back.

The two waited patiently. Handong was staring blankly at their hands before she spoke, her voice hoarse and dry, “I spoke to Siyeon about something on our date…”

“Did she say something?!” Bora shot up from her bed, already fuming and anger laced through her words. “Did she hurt—”

“No, Bora,” Handong grabbed her wrist, pulling her to sit again, “she didn’t do anything bad. It was an amazing time and she’s the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met.” She allowed herself to smile a little. “It’s funny, actually. She went to our school for a little. For a month during my freshman year, this girl really liked me and kept flirting with me. Turns out, Siyeon was that girl.”

Her sisters smiled at the fact, showing relief that Siyeon was only good to her. As cheesy as it sounded, they had some sort of fate for them to meet again.

“But… I… I actually cut the date shorter than what she planned… I haven’t spoken to her since then.”

She couldn’t even look at them, letting her eyes drop to the ground. Nearly three months passed in the blink of an eye. Who knows how Siyeon felt now.

She shut her eyes. Seconds felt like hours, her mind spinning and trying to put the mixed up sentences in her mind together. Her heart was pounding in her chest, ready to burst as her body began to tremble and her throat was tightening. Swallowing felt so sore. They could probably hear her breathing. A part of her was desperate for a way to take it all back; This moment's discomfort was too painful.

She took a slow, deep breath, then said, “I want to talk about mom…”

A heavy silence fell on them, making her uncomfortable and wanted to backtrack. She shouldn’t feel the way that she felt. She shouldn’t when it was years ago.

Bora and Yoohyeon fixed their position, sitting on both sides of the brunette, Yoohyeon held her hand with a gentle, yet firm grip, while Bora held her arm, letting Handong rest her head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything…”

“Handong, don’t apologize,” Yoohyeon slipped her hoodie sleeve down and used it to dry Handong’s cheek of a fallen tear. “You spent all these years taking care of us. You never took a single break.”

“When we were trying to make ends meet, you overworked,” Bora gave her arm a light squeeze. “You worked every single day. You made sure we were okay and you never wanted us to help you. Even when you were clearly exhausted, you made sure we were resting and eating. Yoo was seventeen, you were eighteen, and I barely turned twenty… We all needed the rest but you wouldn’t allow it for yourself. Dongie, please, let us help you.”

“I don’t know where to start…” Handong sighed, “I don’t know what to do… I’ve made all the wrong decisions.”

“Firstly, you’re taking a break from work. I can do all the work until you’re ready,” Bora pressed her cheek into Handong’s hair. “Second, tell us everything you feel. We’re listening.”

Handong held Yoohyeon’s hand tighter. “All I wanted to do was hide away. I wanted to talk sooner, I really did, but I was too scared… I tried to call Siyeon once to tell her what was happening. I was too scared to do anything! To feel all of the sadness and grief I shoved away all at once, I can’t think or function… I felt so much better hiding, yet so suffocated and anxious. These things showed through what I did or thought… Feeling as though I shouldn’t be with Siyeon and should be with Bora—I told her that. Feeling so bitter whenever someone mentions my plans of leaving or singing. Convincing myself that I’m fine. I got used to working and going on a routine; It all felt so… normal.” She sniffled, taking a moment to swallow the lump in her throat. “And then, wanting to leave… I wanted to so desperately prove everyone wrong! To follow my dreams to become a singer! I feel… I feel like if I do leave, I’d be disrespecting mom’s wish.”

She slumped into their warmth, inhaling a shaky breath and her eyes stung as more tears threatened to leave, “I did this to myself…”

“Handong, you did everything out of love,” Bora turned her body, making the brunette lift her head to look at her. There was a soft look on her face, calming Handong down. “You made us your top priority. You love us so much that you sacrificed your needs for us. You made sure we were getting better, becoming happier again, and you were always there for us. You’re more than deserving to finally focus on you and we’re right here for you. Whatever it is you need, we’ll do whatever it takes to get it!”

The brunette weakly smiled, “To sink in that… mom is gone, and let myself feel the sadness and loss… I didn’t even know I bottled this much inside. I’m sorry for hiding this from you guys…”

“Stop apologizing, Dongdong,” Yoohyeon tugged her close and hugged her tight, “We’re here for you…”

Handong could fall asleep where she was. She was wrapped in the warmth and love of her sisters, who would do anything for her and do whatever it took to make sure she was resting and wasn’t trying to force herself to get better quickly or working right away.

“Thank you for being here…”

“No need to thank us, Dongie.”

* * *

As Handong braided her hair into twin braids, she felt ready to take the next step. The next _leap_ , actually.

Five months. Five months passed without contacting Siyeon. Handong still felt the guilt and she was greatly upset at herself for letting her blue-haired crush hanging.

After she does this task, she’ll feel perfectly ready to call Siyeon and pursue her again, if she’ll allow her to.

Bora got home in the evening, deciding to take on the day shift. She wouldn’t say it, but her exhaustion showed and she was probably wondering how Handong was able to work through those lunch rushes. She did what Handong did for her before: checked on her often, making sure she was eating, holding her whenever she felt like crying, etc. As for Yoohyeon, she made sure to see her whenever she had available time. Handong didn’t like that she was using that time to see her and didn’t see Minji as much anymore, but the blonde told her girlfriend what was going on. The two made sure to shower her in love and care.

With time, Handong reciprocated the same love and care, feeling the weight that was sitting on her shoulders becoming lighter.

Her road to acceptance and facing her new reality was slow, but she could feel herself genuinely readjusting and evolving with the changes in her life. It was a long time coming, but everything was starting to look a little brighter again.

Therefore, when Bora and Yoohyeon were home at the same time with her, she knew this was her moment.

“Hey, you guys?” She got their attention right away, their eyebrows lifted as they waited for her answer. She bit her lip before she asked, “I want to visit mom today.”

Truthfully, Handong hadn’t visited her at all. Yoohyeon and Bora made sure to visit once in a while, but Handong didn’t want to, too afraid and didn't feel strong enough to. She hadn’t been there since the funeral. Of course, when she told them, there was a flash of disbelief before they understood.

She fidgeted with her thumbs as smiles slowly grew on their faces.

“Of course,” Bora nodded, putting her jacket on again. “Let’s go get some gifts before we go.”

The three sisters left to the nearest flower shop and bought a bouquet of peonies, their mom’s favorite flower. Bora and Yoohyeon said they always got one every time they visited.

There was silence between them. The walking and talking people around them, the sound of cars driving by, and the sound of music pouring out of shops whenever the doors opened were the only things filling their silent space. Handong was anxious, keeping her eyes forward, feeling Yoohyeon’s arm around her and bumping arms with Bora from time to time. The brunette told herself she was nervous from not being there for five years, rather than she was not ready. She knew she was fully ready and capable to go. The weather was neither cold nor hot, perfectly in the middle. The sky was a gradient mix of light blue, pink and purple as the sun set into the evening, along with puffy clouds scattered and floating aimlessly.

Their mom always loved the sunset.

Handong followed them, now holding Yoohyeon’s hand firmly as they walked along the bright green grass, passing graves, some covered in presents and some empty. The memorial plaques revealed many names and titles, showing lives that lasted until ninety and lives that only lasted for ten. They eventually found their mom’s memorial, golden engravings of her name and below it about how she lived into her late seventies, it read: _Here lies a beloved mother, daughter, & friend. _

She didn’t even remember what it looked like. Her body shook and her tears couldn’t be controlled, all the emotions of that day rushing back to her. She knew that the moment she’d come face to face with the plaque, she would react like this.

Yoohyeon wrapped her arm around her again, rubbing her back and holding her close, while Bora leaned her head on Handong’s shoulder, giving her a little extra warmth. They didn’t speak as the brunette calmed herself down. She sniffled and tried to hold her cries in. She felt like a fool. She avoided this for five years. Yet, she didn’t feel like leaving or wanting to turn away—she was overwhelmed with how much she missed her.

“Let’s sit down, Dongdong.” Yoohyeon said in a gentle whisper.

They were slow as they did, setting down their bouquet of peonies on the side of her memorial. Bora and Yoohyeon hugged their sister, leaning onto her. Handong was stiff, forcing her shivering to stop, trying to calm down. She gulped hard, taking a few deep, slow breaths.

“Hey mom…” Handong sniffled, looking down at her lap, her fingers fidgeting with the end of her sweater. She leaned into Yoohyeon, trying to stop the quivering in her lower lip. “I’m sorry I didn’t visit… I wasn’t ready…”

“It’s fine, Dongdong. We’re all here together now. That’s what matters.”

She wasn’t sure what kind of tears were falling from her eyes. Was it still sadness? Was it relief to finally be there? Was she finally feeling closure?

Handong didn’t have any words to say. She felt like the silence of the evening and the warmth of her sisters’ embraces were enough for her to ingest and find peace. The longer she looked at the plaque, the more she calmed down and relaxed. She then realized she didn’t even have a photo of her anywhere in her room.

“I miss mom every single day,” Yoohyeon broke the silence. “I think about her a lot. I know she was happy to still have you home, but… do you remember how she reacted when she saw us sad?”

The brunette weakly laughed, sniffling, “It was like the end of the world for her.”

Yoohyeon chuckled too, “It was always funny. She would dramatically gasp and ask us what was wrong like we were physically hurt! If mom actually saw how sad you are right now… she would’ve given her blessing to let you go.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. She would’ve been like, ‘Dongdong,’” she imitated the sing-songy, gentle voice their mom had, “‘seeing you go will make me sad. Nevertheless, if being that rockstar makes you happy, be that rockstar! Just know, no matter how far you go, how many stages you run on, how many fans you gain… you’ll always be my baby.’”

Handong heard it in her mom’s voice. She never missed a day to tell them they were her babies. It filled them with happiness every time they heard it, no matter what. It was definitely one of things she missed most. She felt her lips quiver hearing it from Yoohyeon.

“‘You’ll always be my baby’…” Bora smiled wistfully, “That was the last thing she told me.”

The other two agreed. Handong remembered how every time before she’d leave from visiting, she would tell her that. It was possible that phrase was her final words—She loved them more than anything.

Yoohyeon rested her head on Handong, pressing her cheek into her hair. “Hearing that was better than hearing ‘I love you’. Dongdong, you know she would’ve been your number one fan.”

The thought was funny—her mom dancing around to her music, taking it as far as wearing her merchandise and bragging about her daughter being a superstar to anybody willing to listen.

“Mom was begging for me to stay home ever since kid-me said she wanted to be a singer. It was her only wish, you know that. It went on for years… I didn’t want to go against it, especially after she passed…”

“I remember. I used to laugh at you two going back and forth.” Yoohyeon laughed at the memory, then began switching voices, “‘Stay home, my little songbird’. ‘No!’ ‘I’ll miss my baby here’. ‘No!’”

Handong laughed a little harder, covering her mouth from how embarrassing that was from a different perspective. However, it only solidified Handong staying more than anything else. The memory wasn’t so bitter, but it was happy, knowing it was only out of love.

“Hey,” Yoohyeon spoke gently, not wanting to alarm or break the atmosphere, “Remember that time she got a newer phone, but she kept asking us how to use it?”

Handong’s lips curved at the corners slightly, “Yes, I sat with her, for hours, to teach her how to text.”

“She never got it, huh?”

“Yeah,” Handong finished with a weak chuckle, “she stuck to phone calls and that candy game.”

“Or how about that time she was helping us with math homework and she clearly had no idea what she was doing?”

“We really failed our assignments that time.”

“Yup! Or that time we made super salty kimbap and she ate one,” the three laughter a little harder, “and she made a funny face?”

Bora reached over to slap Yoohyeon’s knee, “Yeah, and then you ate one later!”

They went back and forth with funny stories of their mom. From their mom’s struggles with television show plots to their playful quarrels, happy memories flooded back to Handong. Just when a funny memory finished, one of them somehow had a funnier one to tell. Looking back, life with their mom was never dull.

As they calmed down, Bora looked down at the grass, a nostalgic look in her eyes, “Remember when we came out to her at the same time?”

How could Handong forget that? She was fourteen, Yoohyeon was thirteen, and Bora was sixteen, waiting until after school, anxiously holding each other’s hands on their way home. At the time, the only ‘coming out’ stories they read about on the internet were negative. They were terrified to even think about telling their mom, wondering if she was secretly heartless and would kick them back into the system for liking girls. They walked home and their mom was in the living room watching the news. It was mostly Handong and Bora doing the talking, starting the conversation and ending it, with Yoohyeon nodding her head in between.

Handong said with a smile, “She didn’t react much. Even though we were scared to death… all she did was smile and hug us. I don’t remember what happened after that.”

“We were scared for nothing.” Yoohyeon turned her head, taking Handong’s hand into hers. “Mom always accepted us. No matter what it was.”

“She really did…”

Silence fell on them again. Cool wind picked up and chilled their skin, sending goosebumps and causing shivers. Handong sharply inhaled from how cold it was, along with feeling her sisters huddling closer to her.

Handong sighed, “It was foolish of me to put this off for so long…”

“Not at all, Dongdong!” Yoohyeon whined. “Don’t say that. There’s nothing foolish about you for this! It doesn’t matter how long it takes, just as long as you get there.”

Handong rested her head on her little sister’s shoulder. Gazing at the grave, rather than feeling the painful, hollow sadness, she felt lifted. She breathed easier, looking at it with only good memories filling her mind. Yes, her mom was gone, but she filled their lives with goodness, love, and brightness.

And the greatest memory of all was her saying, “Let’s go home.”

* * *

“You can do it, Dongdong,” Yoohyeon was restless, bouncing in her spot.

Bora, Handong, and Yoohyeon had time to do their ‘girl talk’, setting up the living room with their laid out blanket, three pillows, and another blanket to sleep side by side on. Currently, Handong was in the middle as they all stared at her phone. Siyeon’s contact info was on the screen, with the phone icon just _begging_ to be pressed.

The brunette was extremely nervous.

Six months passed with no contact. Handong didn’t want to believe the woman gave up on her, but it wouldn’t be a shock if she did. If she didn’t answer the call, she’ll either try again or decide she’ll give up too. That was the only thing holding her back.

She pressed her lips together, seeing her sisters in her peripheral vision waiting for her to make the call.

“Come on, Dongie,” Bora tucked a lock of Handong’s hair behind her ear, “we saw how she treated and looked at you. She’s obviously in love with you! If she was willing to like you for, like, eight years without talking to you, she’ll still like you now.”

The brunette nodded. She was right. Siyeon may have been serious when she said she was the only one she was ever attracted to. She should trust she would still like her now. Handong felt ready to be with her. All she needed was Siyeon to still feel the same way.

“Okay,” Handong stood up from the floor and pressed the phone icon, walking to her room while Nannan followed her. She shut the door, pacing back and forth while Nannan rubbed his body against her legs.

Her heart was pounding and ready to break out of her chest. Listening to the ringing was the most nerve-racking thing she ever experienced. This was worse than any audition she had ever done.

“Handong?”

The brunette expected to hear some sadness or even some anger in Siyeon’s voice. Instead, she sounded elated, _ecstatic_ to hear her again. She imagined that she hastily grabbed her phone in order to answer it. The thought was rather cute, adorable even.

“Siyeon,” she copied her happiness, “how are you?”

“Better now that I’m speaking to you.”

Some things never change.

Siyeon continued, “I’ve been okay. I just got home from choir practice; Some students wanted my help after school. How are you?”

“Better now that I’m speaking to you,” she playfully mocked, but it was the truth. She missed hearing her smooth tone, hearing how expressive she was through spoken words. “I’m really sorry that we didn’t talk at all…”

“It’s fine. I assumed that, after we talked at the pier... you needed some time?”

“I wanted to tell you, but… I don’t know, I just didn’t know what to say.”

“It’s okay, Handong. I’m happy to hear your voice again.”

“Likewise,” the brunette sat on her bed, letting Nannan hop onto her and lie down on her lap. Her smile wouldn't go away. “I would love to keep chatting through the phone, but we should see each other again… Is that date still open?”

“It always is for you.” Handong could practically _hear_ her winking. “Not on a Sunday this time. I want to see you as soon as I can.”

The brunette hummed, “How about Friday?”

God bless her boss, she gave her such a long, paid break, she had all the time in the world for any day Siyeon could come see her. However, she was a teacher after all; She had to take that into consideration.

“That’s possible. There are a lot of concerts and recitals around this time. A lot of my students need my help, so it’ll be a time crunch… I'll leave as soon as I can."

“I wouldn’t want you to rush.”

“It’ll be worth it… I miss you so much.”

She lied down, feeling like she was floating on a cloud. “I miss you too.”

“Will I be picking you up again?”

She began petting Nannan, who moved to lie down on her stomach, in thought. As much as she’d love to see where Siyeon would take her next, she wouldn’t want her to drive even more. She came up with the perfect idea, “No, actually. How about you come over? I’ll make us dinner and we’ll talk then.”

“Sounds amazing. Can’t wait already.”

“See you on Friday then?”

“See you then, Handong.”

When she ended the call, Handong wanted to squeal from how happy and relieved she felt. She set her phone down and covered her face with her hands. Her smile was hurting her cheeks. They felt warm against her hands. She couldn’t begin to describe how she felt; She just knew she was happy that Siyeon still wanted to be with her.

She sighed, moving her cat to the ground as she sat up again, getting up to leave and tell her sisters all about the call.

Opening the door, her said-sisters were pressed against it, toppling and landing hard on the ground. They groaned in pain, especially Bora, who broke Yoohyeon’s fall.

“So,” Yoohyeon looked up with her puppy-like grin, not minding Nannan climbing onto her, “you have a date on Friday?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> final chapter next week! see yall on saturday!


	8. Chapter 8

“Oh, my god, Dongie!” Bora squealed as she looked her sister up and down. “You look so cute!”

Handong, like her first date, spent time with Bora and Yoohyeon to help her get ready. For this dinner date in her home, she wanted to wear a dress, but nothing overly fancy. After digging through her closet, she was able to find a pink dress with a small floral pattern. She remembered buying it a while ago, but never found time or an appropriate place to wear it. She wore it, making sure all of the laces and strings were tied nicely, and it felt perfect to wear. She took a few pastel-colored bobby pins to hold her hair on the side, then put on a light amount of makeup, finishing with the same perfume she used before.

She did a little twirl in her low white heels as her sisters stared with admiration. She couldn’t lie—she felt very pretty.

“Siyeon’s going to lose her mind!” Bora sounded more excited than how Handong felt.

Hours before, the two helped Handong prepare for her big date. Bora had meticulously cleaned the house and made sure it was ready for visitors. She even cleaned places Siyeon wasn’t even going to see, but 'you never know' (her words).

Meanwhile, Yoohyeon was on the side carrying Nannan, making sure none of his hair clung to anything. It was her only job.

Handong wanted to cook and simply serve it for a nice dinner. What was a more perfect dish to make than her stir fry? They went out on a little shopping spree and bought all the ingredients necessary to make it.

Rather than using the general recipe, she picked out the ingredients she used when she first learned it, still remembering it to its exact measurements. She let her sisters taste test and, noticing the different flavors, they smiled a lot bigger. Feeling especially generous, she made enough for Bora to eat on her break and Yoohyeon could eat something other than cup ramen at her dorm, packing it for them.

“Thanks for helping me, you guys.” Handong smiled at them, earning smiles in return as they hugged her at the same time.

“Don’t thank us, Dongie!” Bora patted her back. “We’ll always help you when you need it.”

She pulled away and huffed, a little nervousness settling in. “I hope she’ll like it.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it! Isn’t it exciting, though?! It’s been so long since you’ve seen her, what if you have another attraction at first sight again?”

She felt even more nervous. Bora took the night shift and Yoohyeon was going to take Nannan with her to her dorm, making Handong completely alone with Siyeon.

“We should leave now,” Yoohyeon looked at her phone. “Siyeon should at least be near town. Have fun on your date, Dongdong!”

“I’m sure I will.”

After hugging them one more time, Handong waved her sisters (and Nannan) goodbye, now really setting the nervousness in. She double-checked that everything was ready, fidgeting with her hands as she walked around. She stopped to look at the family photos Bora had placed around the house, smiling at the happy memories. She couldn't recall if she ever took the time to reminisce. Looking now, taking in the big, shining grin her mom had in every photo, they were putting her at ease.

She wondered if she really will experience another ‘attraction at first sight’. Surely Siyeon looked different since the last time she saw her; Handong couldn’t imagine her without her blue hair.

As she took another breath, there was a knock on her door. Her heart jumped at the sound, kicking up in speed as she turned to it. She held her head high as she walked to it, taking one last gulp before opening it.

Handong was shocked, freezing in her spot as she observed the figure at her door. As she suspected, Siyeon didn’t have blue hair anymore, instead it was black, its length passing her shoulders and looked to be slicked back. It looked like it was a little wet with some loose strands hanging over her forehead. Dressed in a baggy, short-sleeve button-up shirt, loose slacks, and black slip-ons, the brunette was feeling the same pull she felt when Siyeon first walked into the diner. Siyeon was just as shocked, looking her up and down with a dazed look, enchanted and mesmerized by her.

She had a lot on her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to say any of them. Smiling shyly at her date, her heart was fast in her chest, realizing she missed her a lot more than she thought.

Siyeon smiled back, only able to mutter a breathless, “Wow…”

Handong shook her head from her trance, then held her hand out, “Um, come in, Siyeon.”

Like a natural instinct, Siyeon grabbed her hand, and walked in. Handong missed how soft and warm her hand was; She couldn’t bring herself to let go.

“You look beautiful,” Siyeon didn’t waste any time to compliment.

“You look beautiful too,” Handong looked down then up again. “Was the drive okay?”

“Yeah, glad there wasn’t any traffic. I really, really missed you.”

“I missed you too,” the brunette didn’t want to, but she let go of her hand. “I promised to make you dinner, so I hope you like stir fry. I usually make it for my sisters."

"It looks very delicious!" Her mouth seemed to be watering as she looked at the setup on the table, her eyes set on the large bowl in the middle. It should be enough for two people and some leftovers.

The two sat down across each other at the dining table, Handong letting Siyeon get her serving first.

“I have to ask again,” Siyeon handed the bowl of stir fry to her, “how are you?”

“I’m doing better every day,” Handong said, “I was doing it alone for a little bit, for maybe a month or two? I really didn’t mean to push everyone, especially you, away; I didn’t know what to do with what I was feeling… I broke down eventually and I told Bora and Yoohyeon everything. I’ve been on a long paid leave for months and, thanks to my sisters, everything’s becoming easier. I feel a lot more at peace and closer to them. I don’t know what would’ve happened if I didn’t have them.” She set the bowl in the middle again before continuing, “I stopped myself from healing and readjusting. I blamed myself for a while… I felt I would disrespect my mom’s wish if I ever pursued anything new… I felt like I didn’t deserve you, Siyeon.”

Siyeon was nodding, letting her know she was listening. Her face fell a little after hearing the last sentence.

“I don’t believe that anymore, of course. I wouldn’t be sitting here with you if I still did. Thank you for the talk at the pier; None of this would’ve happened without that.”

“No need to thank me, Handong,” Siyeon slid her hand across the table and held her hand, gently rubbing her thumb on the back. “I would wait for you for an eternity…”

Handong smiled bigger, looking down at their hands.

As she slid her hand back, she said, "You're too sweet sometimes. I hope you'll like this."

Siyeon nodded, grabbing her chopsticks, "I can tell it tastes very good already."

They ate in silence for a moment. Handong looked up from time to time to see her date's reaction and, so far, she was scarfing it down very quickly. She was more focused on the food, rather than her. Which she didn't mind; she really hoped she liked it. She had nothing to worry about.

Siyeon then got a second helping.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

Handong laughed as she watched the black-haired woman lean back in her chair, now very full from practically inhaling it. She looked cute as she chewed her last bite.

She hadn't even gotten herself a second serving and there was enough left for one person.

"You don't want the rest?" Siyeon asked after swallowing.

"No, you can have it." She rested her head on her hand, gazing at her with affection.

Siyeon didn't push, scooping the rest of the stir fry, only to then take some on her chopsticks and reach over, wanting to feed it to her. Without protest, she ate it. She wasn't sure if it was planned or not, but nevertheless, she was eager to do it. Both women were smiling and giggling together, right down to the last bite.

They washed the dishes together with Handong cleaning and Siyeon drying them, organizing them back into the dishwasher.

"I guess I don't have to say that I loved it?" Siyeon chuckled, drying her glass.

"No, but I would still like to hear it."

"Then, I loved it! Remind me to return the favor on our next date."

"Having another date would be more than enough for me." Handong passed a now-clean plate to her.

"Who taught you how to make that?"

The brunette began to smile at the fond memory, "My mom. I remember when I was little and she was making it. I was supposed to be doing homework but I was so fascinated, I didn't want to go back. So, she taught me instead." She finished with the last glass, drying her hands. "I haven't made it with her recipe since she passed, actually. I'm glad you loved it."

"Thank you for letting me try it," Siyeon smiled bigger. "I'd love to eat your cooking every day. Take it with me to work, eat dinner with you…"

Handong felt her cheeks burn at the domesticity of that. Should she be surprised that she was thinking _that_ far ahead? No, she shouldn't. She clenched her jaw, trying to keep her smile down. Of course, she couldn't, and a little grin graced her lips. The thought of Siyeon happily taking Handong's food in the mornings for lunch? The thought of Siyeon coming home and greeting her lovingly and happy to eat dinner with her, even if she was tired? It made her feel incredibly delighted.

"Let's start with dinner together more often." She took Siyeon's hand, taking her out of the kitchen.

Diverting away from their future plans, Handong gave her a little tour of the house, showing her where everything was. She respected Bora's privacy and kept her door closed, but did state it was very clean and organized inside. She mentioned that Bora and Yoohyeon used to share a room and, with Bora being clean and Yoohyeon being messy, they didn't mix very well.

"We weren't able to keep everything from our last house…" Handong brought her back to the living room. "We were falling behind financially back then. We sold nearly everything and Yoohyeon stayed with us while she finished high school. Then I worked and worked and worked so much. Bills for this house, Bora dropped out of college and had too much debt, and… you know, funeral expenses. I don't know how we managed to do it."

"Did you get any help from anybody?"

"We took a little bit from people who knew my mom, but we all felt terrible for taking it, even though we needed it." Handong sighed, squeezing Siyeon's hand, "But we made it somehow. All of us can rest easier."

"I admire you so much…" Siyeon said it with a deep tenderness in her gaze. It sounded like a thought she wasn't supposed to say. It must have been what she was thinking the entire time.

Handong just giggled instead, letting her look on a little longer.

She sat them down on the couch, facing each other and Siyeon held Handong's hand with both of hers, gently fiddling with her fingers. “What about you, Siyeon? How were you before this?”

“Honestly, I was freaking out for a little. I was scared when you didn’t answer my texts or my calls, but then I thought about it. I just went home, went to work, helped my students—all the while you were in the back of my mind…” Siyeon then smiled, “Something big happened in that time. Life changing, even.” After a moment, she said, “I found out I had a little sister.”

Handong’s eyes widened, gasping as the words registered.

“I reacted like that too,” Siyeon laughed at how big her eyes got. “She’s my half-sister, but my sister nonetheless. Her name’s Gahyeon. Turns out, she lived with our mom… I met my real mom. She told Gahyeon about me and she found me. I was mad for awhile, angry that she kept Gahyeon but gave me up. I still am, kind of. She said my dad left a little bit after she had me, and she couldn’t raise me by herself, so she just left me on my orphanage’s doorstep… I guess I understand… What are the chances they were nearby? That Gahyeon could come see me?”

“That must’ve been a lot to take in…”

“It was. I told my parents about it and they let me decide if I wanted a relationship with my mom or not. I’m not sure yet…”

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I know. For now, I need to think about it. I got mad directly to her face. It was in the moment; I was so upset… She doesn't expect me to forgive her and, right now, I really can't." She smiled again, “But, Gahyeon is incredible. We became close right away. Even though I only have brothers and she grew up being an only child, we just connected instantly.”

“What’s she like?”

“She’s really loud, funny, knows how to do a lot of weird impressions, easy to talk to… She really likes to sing too. Though, she’s in school for mathematics. We’re four years apart. We see each other often now; It's like we’ve known each other forever.”

“I’m happy for you, Siyeon. Is it as fun as it sounded when you asked me about mine?”

“It really is fun; She’s a prankster sometimes,” Siyeon scooted closer to her. “And she knows about you already. She wants to meet you.”

Handong copied her, her leg touching hers, “I would love to meet her. I want you to meet my sisters properly; Hopefully they'll be calmer later on."

"We did get off on a weird foot, didn't we?"

"You really did."

A tense silence fell on them. Handong’s heart was gradually speeding up as Siyeon kept her eyes on her. Her sharp eyes, accentuated by her smokey eye makeup, always seemed like she was looking through her, and that she knew all of her secrets and thoughts. Yet, she knew it was the same gaze full of fondness and her feelings for her really showed in it. She felt goosebumps on her arms, feeling Siyeon still caressing and playing with her fingers.

Siyeon smiled and stood up first, taking her phone out of her pocket. The brunette watched as she pressed her screen a few times. A slow song started playing from it, raised to full volume.

She set it down on the coffee table and held her hand out, “May I have this dance, Kim Handong?”

She smiled and grabbed it, standing up, “Yes, you may, Lee Siyeon.”

Like before, Handong wrapped her arms around Siyeon’s neck while the other held her hips, making the atmosphere more tense from being close. They danced to the slow piano, holding strong eye contact that sometimes lingered to each other’s lips. Handong never thought she’d ever dance in the middle of her living room, let alone have a date in her home.

“I don’t think there are any words that could describe how much I missed you…” Siyeon held her close, pressing more of her warmth against her.

“I can’t think of any words either.”

Her date’s eyes weren’t going back to hers anymore, staying focused on her lips.

She was starting to feel a little bold, her hands then cupping her face with a little smirk on her lips, “How about you show me instead?”

Siyeon chuckled breathlessly, pressing her hands to her back and pulling her closer.

Handong smiled and parted her lips, feeling Siyeon’s breath against them—

The brunette’s phone started vibrating like crazy on the kitchen table.

Siyeon’s face hid in Handong’s shoulder before she pulled back, her cheeks dusted pink, a shy smile on her face and giggling cutely. “You should get that.”

“I guess I should.” Handong left the living room and grabbed her phone that was about to fall to the ground from how much it was vibrating.

Bora and Yoohyeon were blowing up their group chat, asking how it was going and what they were doing.

 **Queen Bora:  
** [WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING]

 **Puppy Yoo:  
** [TELL US! TELL US! TELL US!]

 **Queen Bora:  
** [IS SHE STILL HOT]

 **Puppy Yoo:  
** [OH MY GOD BORA WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT]

 **Queen Bora:  
** [IS SHE]

 **Puppy Yoo:  
** [THIS IS HANDONG’S GIRLFRIEND]

 **Queen Bora:  
** [YOU THINK SHE’S HOT TOO]

Handong laughed as the messages kept popping in, now leading to Bora and Yoohyeon yelling at each other. They should know better than to randomly text her on her date. Rather than giving any response, she set her phone on silent.

“My sisters are just wondering what we’re up to,” Handong went back to Siyeon, who was waiting patiently on the couch.

“Did you tell them?” Siyeon stood up, grabbing Handong’s hand again to continue their dance.

“No, I just silenced it. They’re fighting now anyway.”

Siyeon smirked, giving the brunette a little twirl before she pressed her front to her back, resting her head on her shoulder, “I’m sure they’ll be upset if they found out what they interrupted.”

“They definitely will.”

The moment was gone, so Handong didn’t continue. Perhaps it was a sign that they shouldn't move on so quickly yet. Instead, she enjoyed Siyeon’s arms around her, swaying to the music again.

“What do they exactly expect of us? Being alone together?”

“I think they’re expecting you to still be here in the morning. I don’t know what they think we’re doing, but whatever it is, they’re wrong,” Handong scoffed. “Yoohyeon already said you’re my girlfriend.”

“Am I not?”

“I don’t recall you asking me.”

Her phone began fading into another song, making her spin her around again to face her. It sounded like a slow ballad song. Handong didn’t think much about it since they were still dancing.

Until she began singing.

Siyeon didn’t sing directly at her; Her voice was next to Handong’s ear, singing lowly yet emotionally. It just had to be cheesy and sing a romantic song about how beautiful she was tonight and how happy she made her feel, not surprising the brunette for a second. She simply pulled her closer, drowning in her silky voice and letting every word sink in. It was pleasant to her ears, feeling some jealousy for her students who got to hear her sing every day.

She would love to hear it every day, too.

* * *

After finishing a few more songs, some just dancing together and some Siyeon sang to, they decided Siyeon had to leave. Of course, she wanted to stay, but Handong didn’t want her to get bombarded with questions by Bora and Yoohyeon if she were to stay overnight. She’ll deal with them on her own.

They stood on the porch, holding each other’s hands and swaying them, stalling Siyeon’s departure. They just smiled shyly together, mirroring each other and it was becoming more difficult to separate.

“I had a good time, Siyeon.”

“Me too; I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before.”

“You’re just saying that… How did you manage it, anyway? Still being in love with me since high school?”

“Was it obvious how I really felt?”

"I don't think you'd be here if you just 'liked' me."

Siyeon looked down at her feet, then looked up with blushing cheeks, “I never felt those feelings I had for you again when I moved. I tried dating other girls, I thought I liked them, but it wasn’t that feeling… And then, when I saw you at the diner, I felt them again. I can feel them now! I can’t explain it; I just know it feels good. My heart already knew where it belonged…”

It was so cliche. She wanted to poke fun at her confession, but how could she? She had her own cliche reasons too. Ever since Siyeon came into her life, she only brought goodness and happiness with her. Overly direct and trying too hard sometimes, but it made her happy. Now, she felt ready to move into the next step—finally give her heart in return.

“I know where mine belongs too…”

A beat passed before Handong grabbed her into a tight embrace. A hug so warm and held so tightly, it was like this was the last hug they’ll ever share. Siyeon hugged in return with the same closeness, hiding her face in the crook of her neck.

When they pulled back, Siyeon pressed her forehead to Handong’s, her eyes still closed like she was still enveloping herself in her cozy embrace. It allowed the brunette to gaze and watch how content she was, at peace and with a barely noticeable smile on her lips. She couldn’t stop her own smile, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

“Well, I’m waiting…” Handong said with a little laugh.

“For?”

“I want you to ask me.”

Siyeon pulled away with a cute pout, visibly confused as to what Handong wanted. The brunette let a minute pass before she laughed hard, further confusing her.

Handong reached and cradled Siyeon’s cheek, asking with a smile, “Will you be my girlfriend, Lee Siyeon?”

Siyeon snickered with a bashful smile, dipping her head down from how clueless she was. Handong could see it so clearly now: in high school, Siyeon made that same smile when she embarrassingly flirted with her. The way she placed her hand on the wall, trying so hard to act cool and impress her, only to smile like right now. The brunette was certain if she wasn’t so focused on her future, she would’ve been charmed.

She looked into Handong’s eyes again, the same adoring and loving gaze that put a gleam in her eyes, “Yes, I will, Kim Handong.”

* * *

It took another thirty minutes for Siyeon to leave. She understood why she needed to leave, even though she persisted with staying and insisted she could deal with Bora and Yoohyeon’s barrage of questions. Handong was _not_ going to let her stubbornness affect her this time. Eventually, she convinced her, saying they’ll have plenty of time after a good night’s rest to be together. To venture into their dating life and figure it out. She reminded her to call, not text, when she gets home and watched her leave.

She went back to her phone and saw there was a massive amount of messages from her sisters, mostly just between them and the little argument they had.

Luckily, the fight ended about ten minutes ago, so she could send a single response, [You guys can come back. Siyeon went home].

It took a second for them to respond:

 **Queen Bora:  
** [YOU SENT HER HOME???]

 **Puppy Yoo:  
** [No offense Dongdong but we left the house for a reason]

She rolled her eyes, replying, [We’re taking it slow].

She turned her phone off before she could read any more of their messages. She deeply sighed, a content smile on her lips as she took her heels off. There was a fluttering in her chest from how happy she felt. _Siyeon was her girlfriend._ She couldn’t imagine how Siyeon truly felt—she was acting a little too calm when she asked. She was probably (no, _definitely_ ) going to rave about her to Gahyeon, letting herself feel the overwhelming amount of joy that filled her.

She took her makeup off, changed into her pajamas and got ready for bed. It was past midnight, after all.

Once she was done washing her face, there was an impatient fumbling at the front door, sounding like someone desperately shoving the key into the doorknob and trying to twist it open.

Walking towards it, she heard her sisters bickering and telling each other to open the door. Handong stood patiently as it swung open and hit the door stopper, welcomed by her sisters’ confused glares.

“Why did you send her off?!” Bora tossed her bag onto the couch.

“Did you really leave work for this?”

She waved it off, scoffing, “The new waiter can handle it; He was hitting on me anyway! I didn’t want to deal with that! Why did you make her leave?!”

“So she doesn’t have to deal with you two in the morning,” Handong crossed her arms, keeping her answers deadpan. “Trust me, she wanted to stay as much as you two did.”

“‘We’re taking it slow,’ excuse me, Dongdong, what happened with that?!”

“We’re girlfriends now.”

Like before, Handong kept the details to herself, just telling general events, like their dinner together, their talk, their dancing, and who asked the question. They cheered when Handong said she was the one who asked, shaking her around and practically screaming about it.

“Okay, okay!” Handong backed away towards her room, “I’m staying in my room. Please, I’m really tired.”

Her sisters grumbled, but they obliged, staying in the living room with pouts on their faces.

Handong smirked before she shut her door, turning around to say, “Hey, when you guys started blowing up my phone… we were about to kiss!”

They simultaneously gasped, running towards the door, only for Handong to shut and lock it. They banged and twisted at the doorknob, going on for another minute before stopping, hearing more of their grumbling and their footsteps becoming further away.

Handong laughed as she got into bed. Just in time, her phone started vibrating and Siyeon’s face popped up on the screen.

She answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, I just got home,” She didn’t sound tired in the slightest. “Did your sisters ask you those questions?”

She groaned, “Yeah. Bora jumped out of work and Yoohyeon left my cat at her dorm to get here. I didn’t tell them anything too detailed. We were right about them getting mad about our little moment getting interrupted.”

“There’s always next time. We won’t let anything bother us then.”

Handong giggled, feeling a warmth in her chest from how happy she was. She turned on her side, facing towards the framed photo of her mom she put on her bedside table. It was of her and her mom during Handong’s graduation, hugging her as she wore her black cap and gown and held her diploma.

One thing was certain about her mom: she would’ve loved Siyeon. She could hear her mom’s voice telling Siyeon to take care of her daughter and to never hurt her, to always help her and to always be there for her. How, even against Handong's embarrassment, she would tell Siyeon any embarrassing stories from taking care of her. How she would've always invite her over for dinner. She would’ve pulled her into her back-crushing hugs, full of love and affection.

Sure, Handong never got to follow her big dreams so soon, but… Maybe that was a good thing. She still needed time and all those days and nights had led her to this very moment. During all those days and nights, Siyeon’s heart still only wanted her.

All of those days and nights led to the start of a new chapter of their lives.

And they’ll get to experience it together.

“Can we see each other again tomorrow?” Siyeon continued, “I want to spend the weekend with you.”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

“Would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?”

The brunette hummed in thought, playfully delaying her answer. She could imagine Siyeon was anxiously tapping her fingers, even though she should know she’ll say yes.

“Yes, I would love to go on a date with you, Siyeon.” Handong couldn’t stop her smile as she heard Siyeon’s breath of relief and delighted laughter. She took a deep breath, smiling bigger as a thought popped into her mind. A thought she hadn't welcomed in forever.

“How about karaoke?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im actually lowkey sad this is done already :ccc i loved writing this so much! thank you all for reading uwu!


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